Isaiah's Love
by Kbrandan2004
Summary: Isaiah could feel Caleb shifting violently and almost wondered if he should wake him up. Isaiah looked at the clock that was showing in big red letters that it was now four 'o'clock in the morning, it frustrated him because he had just managed to drift off to sleep and now he was right back to square one. Isaiah closed his eyes and tried to get back to sleep.
1. Chapter 1: Game Day

Isaiah had just given the ball his best kick and was now watching Jonathan and Caleb blast across the field after it. The clock was down to one minute and this would be the point to win the game for them or blow it for them. Isaiah watched as the clock slowly counted down the time, seemingly flowing in slow motion. The other team jumped him and he threw the ball into the air. Jonathan bounded into the air and caught it and continued to run. Isaiah was hopeful but still nervous about the game. He often would feel anxiety on the field since, when he applied for the team, he just made the cut. Isaiah looked up just as Caleb managed to break free from the other team and take off running just in time for Jonathan to get tackled and throw the ball to him. He could see that he was really pushing himself as hard as he could; he could tell by how fast he was moving. Caleb pushed through one last person and jumped onto the goal line. The crowd of students in the bleachers started to scream and go wild. He threw the ball to the ground and did his own brand of victory dance.

Caleb looked up at the people in the bleachers and raised his hands in the air at the cheering crowd. He could see Sheena, his girlfriend of three years. Sheena, the girl of everyone's dreams, five foot six, one hundred and twenty pounds with blonde hair and brown eyes and a beautiful figure. She was the girl that everyone sought after but she was his girlfriend. They were considered to be the school power couple. Although she was beautiful, her attitude would often be a turn off to most guys. She was his first girlfriend and he loved her but sometimes he had a hard time dealing with this attitude. It had been a particularly rough day with her. She had wanted to go to the mall at lunch time, but he wasn't able to because his father had put the time lock on the truck, so she blew up at him. Sitting with her was her two friends Stephanie and Katelyn who were kind of her followers. He looked over at the parent's section, Chris, Jonathan, and Mike and Andrew. All their parents were sitting there, Caleb's parents, as usual they weren't there. They had been gone for almost a week now and probably wouldn't be back for another two or three days.

The crowd in the bleachers slowly cleared out to the point that only Sheena, Stephanie and Katelyn were left back. The coach blew the whistle that hung around his neck. The sound almost made Isaiah flinch, the high-pitched tone for some reason went right through him and it was something he still hadn't gotten used to.

"Good job, good job! Hit the showers, guys," called Coach Adams as he dropped the whistle back around his neck. The coach was a short stumpy man but when it came to football he knew his stuff and he was certainly passionate about the sport. Caleb walked down the field with Jonathan, Isaiah, Mike and Andrew. He looked at Isaiah as he walked watching him move. The two of them hadn't really spoken but Caleb had always admired him. He was on the football team and he was an academic, a bit of a nerd even. How he managed to do so well in both always quietly amazed Caleb.

"Caleb," yelled Sheena waving at him from the bleachers. Caleb blatantly ignored her as she called to him, clearly not in the mood to deal with her. Caleb smiled at Isaiah as he realised that he was starring at him.

"Good job, bud," said Caleb. Isaiah smiled at him almost bashfully, still not quite used to getting compliments on his performance on the field, especially from the other guys on the team. He was often teased by them because he was smaller and there were other rumours that floated around about him.

"Thanks," said Isaiah. Jonathan walked up beside Caleb he was excited about having just won the game. He had heard Sheena call out to Caleb. He was his best friend since fourth grade. They had met at a football camp one summer and had been good friends since then. He wasn't the biggest fan of Sheena. He didn't like the fact that she was so controlling of him and he just seemed to let her do it. Nonetheless, he thought he would make sure Caleb knew she was calling to him because he didn't want to have to listen to it later.

"Caleb, Sheena's yelling to you," reminded Jonathan. Caleb looked back at Jonathan with an annoyed look on his face.

"Yeah, I'm not in the mood to deal with her right now."

"Sorry." Isaiah watched as Jonathan put his head down and walked away. Everyone knew that Sheena and Caleb had been fighting today before the game. It was almost impossible not to know. Every time they fought, Sheena managed to make a big scene about it just to make sure she got her point across. That she wasn't getting her own way and she always managed to make it look like Caleb was such a bad person. He felt really sorry for him; just the look that would come over his face when she was screaming at him. He looked so belittled and frustrated, but Isaiah could tell that if he said or did anything it would just make him look worse.

"Another fight?" asked Isaiah. Caleb looked at Isaiah, caught off guard. He didn't realise that anyone knew he was fighting with Sheena. Although it wasn't all that uncommon for people to notice because as she was today, she was always extremely vocal about her problem. Caleb forced a smile for the sake of keeping up his appearance.

"Um… yeah man," said Caleb. Andrew watched as Caleb walked ahead of them, then looked at Isaiah. Andrew didn't like the fact that Isaiah was on the team. He didn't feel like he belonged; he just didn't think he was good enough. Caleb would often stick up for Isaiah when the other members of the team teased him. He was the team captain but even off the clock he wouldn't stand for them saying anything about him. Andrew looked at his twin brother Mike who was walking just a few feet away.

"Man, I hate having to shower with that faggot," said Andrew. Mike felt the same way his brother did, he didn't know where the rumours came from but, for some reason, they made him uneasy. But he also didn't need Caleb being on their case about it either, although his brother didn't seem to care.

"Shh, Caleb might hear you," he warned.

"Yeah, whatever," said Andrew nonchalantly. Isaiah stopped walking and looked back briefly having heard the last part of the comment. He and Andrew made eye contact briefly as the two of them walked by him. Andrew was someone that he didn't particularly get along with, Andrew didn't like him and had no problem showing it. As long as Caleb wasn't really around to say anything to him about it, his brother Mike was someone who didn't really talk to Isaiah. The two of them walked past him he took one last quick look at the field and walked into the locker room that adjoined the school gym. The team was excited after the win, they walked in patting themselves on the back before starting to get undressed. Isaiah stepped up to his locker that was two units down from Caleb's, but right next to Jonathan's. Jonathan stepped up to his locker and lifted his shirt off then looked at Caleb who was fiddling with the lock on his locker.

"Awesome job out there, Caleb… as always," said Jonathan.

"Hey man, I couldn't have done it without you guys!" said Caleb getting his locker open. "Awesome pass out there. Got us the game." Caleb patted Jonathan on the back and lifted off his shirt. Isaiah followed his lead and lifted off his shirt. He rolled it up and put it into his locker. Jonathan took his pants off then walked passed him with a towel around his waste leaving just him and Caleb. Caleb had his back to him, Isaiah couldn't help but stare at him. Anyone could tell by looking at Caleb that he really cared about his body, he went to the gym daily and was heavily involved in sports for years, this gave him the almost sculpted body that now stood before Isaiah. His father was Cuban giving him a dark exotic look. Caleb looked over at him and flashed him a greeting smile.

"Good job out there, Caleb. You saved the day," said Isaiah trying not to seem obvious that he was staring.

"Hey thanks. You too, bud." Caleb took his pants and underwear off then grabbed a towel out of his locker. He put the towel around his waste and shut the locker quickly putting the lock on it. Isaiah leaned into his locker to look for his towel with a smile on his face that Caleb couldn't see.

"See you later." Isaiah continued to undress as Caleb walked passed him.

"Yup," said Caleb briefly as he walked passed Isaiah into the shower room. Isaiah finished undressing then put his towel around his waste and shut his locker not bothering to lock it.

Isaiah walked into the shower behind the other guys. Caleb, Jonathan, Chris, Andrew and Mike had walked in ahead of him. They were standing under a group of showerheads that hung from the ceiling in a circle, the boys stood back to back as they washed. Isaiah took one of the showers away from the rest of the group, he turned on the water and started to work through his shower routine. He could clearly hear the groups conversation.

"So guys, where's the victory party at tonight?" asked Chris dumping soap into his hand from a squeeze bottle.

"Hells yeah, mutha, that's what I need! Caleb, we doing it at your house again this time?" asked Jonathan excited. Caleb had an unsure look on his face as he spoke.

"I don't know, man. My parents are outta town but I'm not sure about the whole party thing. The girlfriend is going to wanna hang out and, quite frankly, she hates you idiots." The group laughs at the comment. The rest of the team and Jonathan in particular didn't like Sheena, they all saw her as just a spoiled brat that leached off Caleb. Every one of them, except Isaiah, had tried to get him to leave her at some point and any onlooker could see that it bothered him.

"The feelings mutual," said Mike. "I'm sure she knows that."

"Man, that shit's weak. You need to tell that bitch how it is. But then again, we've been telling you that for years! We know how it is eh buddy?" Jonathan made a whipping noise and made the action with his hand then continued to scrub his chest. The team laughed at the comment, Caleb shook his head hiding frustration.

"Man, whatever. At least I got some pussy to get whipped by! When's the last time you got anything other then the Sears catalogue?" said Caleb keeping with the light mood.

"Ha ha. Fuck you, ass. I get plenty o' pussy." Jonathan turned off the water on his showerhead and stepped away from the shower. Andrew looked back at him with a big smile on his face. Everyone new Jonathan for two things other then football, partying and women, he made it no secret that he was heavily into either. He'd often talk about his conquests in the locker room, much to the others dismay.

"Yeah, from that fat chick!" Andrew called out for everyone to hear. The group laughed, and Isaiah found this to be particularly funny. The "fat chick" they were referring to was his best friend Casey. He didn't like hearing them talk about her like that but he knew that she would get a kick out of him being teased, little did they know she used him just as much as he used to her. Isaiah snickered out loud and shook his head not realizing it.

"Whatever," said Jonathan. Jonathan was clearly irritated about being teased and everyone laughing at him. As Isaiah laughed he turned his attention to him with an angry look on his face. "What are you laughing at, faggot?" Isaiah became nervous as Jonathan approached him putting a towel around his waste. Jonathan was significantly larger then him and probably had about forty pounds on him. The words were something that Isaiah had unfortunately become used to over the past year or so, since the rumours had started to circulate about him. The entire room had gone quiet the only sound was the water streaming from the showerheads. Isaiah shot Caleb a nervous glance before he spoke.

"Nothing, man… Just thought about something," said Isaiah his voice cracking.

"That's what I thought, fucking faggot!" Jonathan pushed Isaiah harshly, Isaiah stumbled almost falling to the floor.

"Man, knock it off…" Caleb put his towel around him and stepped over to them, he wasn't about to stand for Jonathan getting physical with anyone, particularly the smallest member of the team.

"Hey! Calm down. We all laughed you. Didn't hear you talking to anyone else like that," said Caleb taking a defensive posture. Jonathan turned around and looked at Caleb still with an angry look on his face. Caleb new he wasn't surprised, this wasn't the first time he had to come between Jonathan and Isaiah. Caleb stood staring at Jonathan waiting for a response half expecting what he was going to say anyway.

"Caleb, why do we have this faggot on our team anyway." The rest of the group nervously looked on wondering what was going to happen. These incidents didn't ever get too serious, but this was probably the first time in a long time Jonathan had physically attacked Isaiah. They new that Caleb wouldn't stand for it.

"Man, Jonathan, you know you're my best friend, but I'm still team captain. He's on the team because he does what he's supposed to do. Now just shut up before I have to get the coach involved." Jonathan stared at Caleb angry and hurt that Caleb would always take Isaiah's side in these situations.

"Whatever. I'm out of here. I'll see you boys later." Jonathan walked out of the shower room and waved at the others on his way by. They stay silent for a few seconds hearing Jonathan thrashing his locker around briefly then the sound stops. Isaiah looks at Caleb shortly and then goes back to shower.

"Thanks."

"Yeah man." Caleb walked back over to his shower and hung up the towel in front of him. Mike looked at each of them sensing that the tension had faded and decided it was ok to get back on the topic at hand.

"So. Yeah. Party. When?" Caleb smiled at Isaiah then looked at Mike, deciding to let the incident slide off for now.

"Fuck it. Just come over to my place. Tell the peeps and bring your friends. The 'rents aren't in town and it's the weekend. We might as well take advantage of it." The team started whooping and hollering with excitement. Caleb smiled and turned off the water, he put his towel around him and walked out into the locker room. Caleb opened his locker and took out the clothing he would wear for the rest of the day. His favourite black jeans and his orange silk button up. He finished towelling off still thinking about Isaiah, he would often stare at him when no one was looking. Caleb felt guilty for feeling this way, and he felt as though he could never act on it. People in Strathcona just wouldn't allow it and Sheena would never forgive him. He felt he was stuck with her at this point, not that he didn't love her but lately their fighting was really getting to him. Caleb got dressed and put the lock on his locker then picked up his duffel bag and walked out into the school corridors. He had to go back to his school locker to get his books. He was heading down the hallway when Sheena walked around the corner ahead of him. She had a look on her face that Caleb was all too familiar with. He braced for impact.

"Didn't you see me waving at you today?" she asked clearly agitated. Sheena put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow. "I saw you looking right at me. I know you saw me."

"Sorry I didn't hear you." The look on Sheena's face changed from agitated to angry.

"I was talking to Jonathan, he told me, he told you, he heard me." Caleb looked at Sheena frustrated about the entire situation. He ran his hand through his hair then rested his hand on his neck.

"Sheena why did you even bother to ask if you already knew the answer."

"Because I wanted to catch you in a lie." Caleb looked at Sheena this was the type of game he was sick of and it had been going on too much lately.

"Whatever I'm not dealing with this anymore. Why do you always have to play these games, what does it prove?" Caleb looked at Sheena bracing for one of her smart- ass remarks.

"That I'm smarter than you Caleb. Stop being a dumb jock for once. You're not going anywhere." Sheena's attitude was becoming too much for Caleb, he decided to end the conversation before it got too much more hostile. He pushed passed her and walked down the hallway.

"Whatever I'll see you on the bus!" Sheena stood and looked at him for a second then let out a sigh in frustration as she watched him walk away.

The school day was now over, and Caleb and Isaiah were getting their books out of their lockers to get ready to go home. Isaiah glanced over at Caleb, then went back to what he was doing pulling a binder down out of his locker. "Hey, Isaiah." Caleb put a text book in his backpack and walked over to him. Isaiah stopped what he was doing and looked at him. "Just wanted to tell you not to listen to Jonathan. He was just being an idiot earlier. I've always thought you were pretty cool." Caleb smiled at him and Isaiah gave a small smile back.

"Yeah, it's cool. Just bugged me when he pushed me. Thanks for stepping in." Isaiah took another text book from his locker. He was happy that Caleb was talking to him and couldn't seem to stop smiling.

"No problem, bud." Caleb looked him up and down with his eyes then walked back to his locker, he took one of his text books and put it down into his back pack. "So you coming to the party later?" The smile on Isaiah's face faded as his nerves took over. He had never been to any of the parties before in the past because he didn't really get along with anyone that went to them.

"Oh, um, yeah, I'm not sure about that to be honest." Isaiah paused briefly to try and come up with an excuse as to why he wouldn't be able to attend. "Not sure if my mom will let me." Caleb looked at him slightly confused, Isaiah new that wouldn't be enough. "That and Casey wants to do something later tonight." The confusion faded from Caleb's face as he spoke, he really seemed to want Isaiah to come along.

"Well, if that's the case, you can bring her if you want." Caleb stopped what he was doing again and looked at him with a questioning look. "Man, why don't you ever come to any of our victory parties?"

"I don't know, to be honest." Isaiah decided to stop making excuses and just tell him. "Not really my thing, you know?" Caleb smiled at him again as he closed his locker.

"Well, why don't you come anyway?" Caleb urged. "I'll be disappointed if you don't." Isaiah could feel the colour almost rush out of his face, he was rather put off that Caleb was trying to get him to come to this party. This wasn't the first time he had turned them down and all the other times he just let it slide, why was this time any different?

"Really? That's a little strange isn't it?" Caleb suddenly realised what he had said and his thought processed changed not wanting Isaiah to think anything of the comment, truthful or otherwise. He jokingly punched Isaiah in the arm lightly Isaiah smiled at him.

"Hey I'm just kidding. It won't be so bad. You'll have a good time. See you later, man." Caleb smiled and started to walk away. Isaiah watched him as he walked away. He was almost in a trance at the fact that Caleb wanted him to go to this party so bad and just blatantly tried to cover it up when Isaiah reacted to what he said.

"Okay!"

Casey walked up to the locker next to Isaiah and stared at him as he spoke to Caleb. Isaiah clearly didn't see her approach. As the two of them spoke she could see Isaiah's face light up. Casey was the only one in school who really knew Isaiah's secret. She watched them converse, their body language was of that of two good friends even though Casey knew that wasn't the case at all. Isaiah and Caleb didn't see each other outside of practise and games but Isaiah wanted to be around him more. Casey leaned against the locker and continued to listen to them talking until Caleb walked away. Isaiah put the last of his books into his backpack, his face still lit up with happiness at the conversation he just had. Isaiah closed his locker door and Casey was standing right behind it startled he dropped his pack.

"Ah, shit! How long have you been standing there?" The two of them laughed as Isaiah quickly picked up his backpack and hung it over one shoulder.

"Only long enough to see you light up with joy as he was talking to you. Have you told him yet?" Casey was already pretty sure of the answer.

"Yeah right, 'cus that'll happen anytime soon." Casey rolled her eyes at Isaiah's tone. She knew that it wasn't the fact that he was a guy that he doubted himself but because of his poor self confidence.

"Hey, you never know! Besides, it would be so funny to see his bitchy, control freak girlfriend get what everyone wants to come to her." Casey was the complete opposite of Sheena. Casey was short and a bit on the heavier side, with black hair and blue eyes, she often would dress in a lot of dark colours giving her an almost gothic look. She wasn't athletic by any stretch of the imagination, but she was extremely intelligent having been skipped ahead a year as a result. She was a year younger then Isaiah but would still graduate with him, but also because of her intelligence and her appearance she was often teased by the other students and Sheena in particular.

"You mean Sheena?" asked Isaiah knowing full well who she was referring to. "I can see why everyone hates her. She's just never been nasty to me personally. I think she sees me as the quiet one on the team."

"She's nasty to me on a regular basis." Casey paused and looked up and down the halls then at her watch. "Let's go we don't wanna miss the bus." Isaiah nodded at Casey and they both started down the hall toward the exit. The high school was a small building, three floors with probably two hundred students. Like the town it was placed in it had a lot of history behind it. Once a textiles plant the school had been converted in the early 1900's into a hospital, then in the 60's they converted it to a high school. The building reflected it's age, in places the paint on the walls was peeling or cracked. The lockers they used weren't as old as the building, but it had been a long time since they were replaced. Most of them were bent or had scars from past students. Casey and Isaiah walked out into the front of the school where there was a crowd of students waiting for the bus. Isaiah could see Caleb and Sheena standing with her friends Stephanie and Katelyn. Sheena was getting really close to Caleb, but he still had the irritated look on his face. Isaiah watched as she touched his chest and leaned on him as she talked to her friends.

"Oh my god Stephanie, that guy was so hot why didn't you stay with him?" Sheena seemed to be purposefully trying to draw attention to herself as she hung off Caleb.

"I don't know, I just didn't want to, sure he was pretty, but I don't need a relationship right now. I'm out to have fun," said Stephanie. Isaiah didn't really know a whole lot about Stephanie, but her reputation was not a pretty picture unless you were looking for a one nighter. Caleb looked at her and fought back the urge to roll his eyes at her comment. Sheena didn't like his friends, but he couldn't stand Stephanie. He hadn't told Sheena but at one of the parties they had been to she tried to sleep with him. "Why are you so quiet Caleb?" she asked.

"Oh, I think he's still mad at me," said Sheena looking up at him, "We got into another fight earlier." Sheena looked back at Stephanie smiling wide as if proud of herself.

"What about?" asked Stephanie.

"I caught him lying again." Caleb looked down at her and then away and pulled away from her. He glanced over at Isaiah who was standing with Casey obviously looking for an escape from her. Jonathan and the other guys weren't out of the building yet. "Come on Caleb, let's not fight like this anymore today please." Sheena reached out and took Caleb's hand and pulled him into a kiss then brushed her hand on his face and pulled back. "All you have to do is say you're sorry." Caleb looked at her as he pulled back from the kiss. The look on his face said he didn't want to be bothered fighting with her anymore he was tired and just wanted to take a nap.

"I'm sorry, Sheena. But you know how I get sometimes when we're going through these games." This was always what Caleb let her feel but the truth was that when he was in the midst of a game was when he was the most at ease and his mind was the clearest. Lately the only thing that kept him sane was the game and his practises.

"I accept your apology. Now wasn't that easy?" Sheena smiled at him and hugged him. Isaiah looked on and rolled his eyes at them. Jonathan, Chris, Mike and Andrew came walking out of the school and went over to where Caleb was standing. Jonathan brushed up against Katelyn and slapped her on the ass.

"Hey baby, you gonna be at the party tonight?" Jonathan had a big smirk on his face.

"No," said Katelyn offended, "My parents are going out of town." Katelyn glared at Jonathan. Every now and then he would cross the line, she didn't take well to his advances all the time. "And even if I was, what makes you think that you would have any chance with me?" The other guys laughed at him.

"Oh come on now, you didn't mind it a month ago." Jonathan gestured and grabbed the crotch of his jeans, Katelyn let out a frustrated sigh and walked away from him.

"Jonathan stop being such a pig," said Sheena. The bus pulled up to them and the students began to stand in line to wait to get on. Isaiah and Casey shared a seat two rows up from Chris, Mike and Andrew. Caleb and Sheena are sitting away from the rest of them on the other side and Jonathan is a sitting behind them in a seat by himself. The bus driver was focused on his driving. Caleb looked around the bus, he was getting ready to tell Sheena about the party, but he didn't want the backlash. He knew she wasn't going to be happy about it, he just hoped that she wouldn't blow up at him over it. He didn't think he could control himself if she blew up at him again. He looked over at her she was reading a teen vogue magazine and leaning into him. She looked unusually peaceful and he almost didn't want to tell her but he new if people just started to show up at the house she would completely freak out and make a scene. She noticed that he was looking over at him and smiled, he smiled gently back at her.

"So," he began, "we're having the victory party tonight at the house." Sheena closed the magazine she was reading and dropped it in her pack and looked at him with a disappointed look in her face.

"Awe baby, you know I hate those idiots being around. I was hoping the two of us could have a bit of a celebration of out own." Sheena had a seductive look in her eyes as she rubbed his forearm with one hand and put her index finger on his chest moving it in a circular motion. Caleb was borderline shocked at her reaction he certainly expected worse, he kept the tone of the conversation going.

"I know, babe, but they're my friends. And more importantly; my team-mates," he explained, "How am I supposed to get my scholarship without them? Besides, just because they're there doesn't mean we can't hold our own celebration in my bedroom." Caleb leaned in and kissed her briefly. She pulled back and looked at him with a little bit of frustration in her face but also smirking at him.

"Why can't you just have fun now like everyone else our age?" she asked.

"I can't say I will but I can try, right?" Caleb put his arm around Sheena and squeezed her into him gently. If she would be like this more often his life would certainly be easier. Jonathan jumped up from the seat behind him and rested his arms on the headrest of Caleb's seat.

"Hey Caleb, dude." Sheena let out a quiet sigh and Caleb looked back at Jonathan who smiled at Sheena's irritation. "When do you want us to come or the party?"

"'Round seven?"

"Sounds sweet." Jonathan stoop up out of his seat and put his arms in the air to purposely draw attention to himself. "Hey everyone, partay at Caleb's house tonight at seven! Bring your friends and whoever the hell else wants to come. Wooo!" Jonathan cheered and the other students on the bus started to hoot and holler drawing the attention of the otherwise focused bus driver. The bus driver turned around to see Jonathan standing in the aisle his expression was clearly annoyed.

"Hey!" he bellowed, "get in your seat and quiet down back there!" The bus driver looked from Jonathan to the road several times waiting for him to respond. Jonathan looked back at the bus driver and then sat back down in his seat.

"Sorry. I'm done now." Casey watched Jonathan closely as he sat down. Casey knew that Isaiah couldn't stand him but she couldn't help it, she thought he was hot. His brown hair and blue eyes sometimes captivated her, not to mention the fact that he had the tall and sturdy body he worked hard to maintain. Even though he often abused it with heavy drugs and alcohol, she didn't care it was just sex. She looked at Isaiah who sat next to her reading out of a textbook.

"Jonathan is so hot." A look of disgust came over Isaiah's face as he book marked his page and closed his book.

"Casey, he's such an asshole. Why would you even want anything to do with him?" asked Isaiah. Of all the people that Casey could choose, Jonathan to Isaiah, was the worst. She even knew that he was the one that gave Isaiah the most trouble when it came to people teasing him but she didn't always seem to care.

"I don't know he's just hot." Isaiah looked over at him briefly then looked back to her as if to be checking if she was right. He just couldn't see how someone like Jonathan could be attractive to anyone he was a womanizer and borderline alcoholic.

"Casey, come on now. You know he'd only use you." Casey was clearly offended at what he had said even though he obviously didn't mean it the way she took it.

"I'm so sick of people saying that I'm stupid. I knew he didn't love me, but everyone always makes it sound like he never would because I'm the "fat girl". But the truth is that he wouldn't because he's an asshole. I used him just as much as he used me," Casey ranted. Casey turned her head and looked away. Isaiah felt bad because it was true what people thought, but he didn't think that way. To him Casey was beautiful because he knew her personality and he didn't understand why she didn't see herself in a better light.

"You know I don't think that," said Isaiah trying to be apologetic, "I just hear the locker room talk they all have. The other guys tease him about you." Casey turned her head to look at him with a small smile on her face. She thought he was hot but that was about it other then the easy sex she thought he was an idiot.

"Good. Serves him right." Isaiah opened his text book and went back to reading for a few seconds. "So speaking of locker room talk, what about the party? You are going, right?" Casey looked at Isaiah with a broad smile and an expecting look on her face. She knew he was uncomfortable with the aspect of the parties this was why he didn't go to them before, but having listened to their conversation she knew he had a bit of an incentive to go.

"I wasn't sure if you were going to do anything tonight so I left it open, although Caleb asked me to go to it." Casey looked at him clearly not buying the "left it open" story.

"So let's go then. I'll go with you. I've been to a few of their parties at Caleb's house before. They always seem pretty rockin'." Isaiah stared down at his book nervously for a second it almost looked like he expected a different reaction from her.

"Cool. Sounds good." Isaiah turned a page in his book and continued to read Casey stared at him for a second wondering why he was so engulfed in his text book realising that he was trying to avoid too much conversation with her.

"So Caleb asked you to go tonight, huh?" she taunted lightly. Isaiah snapped his book shut and put it on his lap. He looked at her surprised that she would say it so loud.

"Casey, keep your voice down." Isaiah was clearly embarrassed his cheeks flushed red and he looked around to see if anyone had heard when the bus came to a stop. Caleb and Sheena got up Caleb walked ahead of Sheena and stopped at Casey and Isaiah's seat he flashed a smile at them.

"See you guys tonight at the party." Isaiah smiled but tried to avoid eye contact his face still flushed red.

"See you later, Caleb," said Isaiah. Sheena stood behind Caleb waiting for him to move on.

"See you, Caleb," said Casey. Sheena looked at Casey with a repulsed look on her face, it was clear that she didn't want her to be there.

"Oh my god, she's going to be there?" she said disgusted. Casey looked away awkwardly to keep herself from saying anything. She knew if she said something it might result in a physical fight and she didn't want to have to hurt Sheena. Caleb looked at Sheena with anger in his eyes, this was it he had had enough of her attitude for one day and he wasn't going to be quiet about it. It was bad enough that she ruined his day, he wasn't about to let her attack someone for no reason with him standing right beside her.

"Yeah, I said anybody could come." Caleb looked at her anyone looking at him could tell he was almost furious. "Can't you just keep your mouth shut for a fucking second?" Sheena looked at him shocked briefly.

"Oh, fuck you, asshole." Sheena pushed passed Caleb and got off the bus, she headed up his yard. Caleb looked back at Isaiah and Casey and smiled at them.

"Sorry," he laughed nervously, "Gotta go." Caleb quickly followed Sheena and walked off the bus and up the yard. The door on the bus closed and it started to move again.

Caleb walked up behind Sheena with the key to the house in his hand, she stood on the door with her arms crossed and tapping her foot obnoxiously. Caleb chose to ignore her childishness and put the key in the door and walked into the big house. Caleb's family was very well off, his parents were both corporate lawyers for a large firm based in Ontario. The house exterior was boxy and functional in appearance but the interior was very roomy, the foyer opened up into the large living room that was nicely decorated. The furniture was new, a leather couch loveseat and chair sat in the middle of the floor in a half circle in front of a fifty-two inch television and entertainment centre. The door to the kitchen was on the other side of the living room and there were two more doors one led to an office and another led to a filing room. There was a set of stairs that led to the upstairs where Caleb's, his parents and his uncle Caesar stayed as well as a guest room. Sheena walked in behind Caleb and stayed silent as she headed upstairs to Caleb's bedroom. Caleb rolled his eyes and followed her upstairs, they walked into his bedroom. A large open room with a double bed centred on the wall a small walk in closet and his computer desk in one corner and entertainment centre in the floor in front of the bed.

"Sheena you were in the wrong," said Caleb plainly. Sheena looked at him as though he was saying something that was completely shocking. "What, you were?" Caleb sat his pack down and sat on his bed and laid back, he could tell that she was extremely angry, she didn't take well to being humiliated especially in public. "Are you really going to hang on to it for the rest of the day?" Caleb was almost taunting her, for once she couldn't argue with him because he was right by any stretch of the argument. Sheena let out one last frustrated sigh and got up and went back downstairs. Caleb put his head back on his pillow and closed his eyes finally getting the nap he wanted. His head and body were aching, his muscles and body were aching from the game. As for his head ache it was all on Sheena he was looking forward to the party tonight to be able to just have fun and relax with his friends. Caleb slowly drifted off to sleep.

The bus had just started to move again after dropping off Caleb. Several of the students on the bus were laughing about Sheena. Jonathan sat back in his seat and looked back at Chris, Andrew, and Mike.

"Haha. Someone's not getting any tonight!" he called out. Isaiah smiled at Casey feeling the overall emotion of the bus laughing at Sheena.

"Poor guy. Way to go, Casey."

"Oh, whatever. What a bitch. I'm glad I pissed her off, and not like Caleb is in any real trouble. He'll just pull out his dick and she'll love him all over again like usual," said Casey sarcastically. Isaiah was suddenly uncomfortable, he didn't like hearing about Caleb and Sheena's sex life. The thought of Caleb being with Sheena bothered him because it was apparent, at least to him, that they stayed together because it was easier for him just to stay with her then to deal with the backlash of a break up with her.

"Yeah," Isaiah paused his discomfort starting to shine through, "I wonder why he took the bus and not the truck. Pretty sure his parents took their car." Caleb would rarely go on the bus, when he first got his license his parents bought him a white Ford f150 pick up truck that he took pretty much everywhere.

"Yeah, it is a little weird to see him on the bus," said Casey. Jonathan came up behind them and sat down in the empty seat smiling at Casey.

"Hey, Casey. You gonna be at the party tonight?" he asked. Isaiah could see the look in his eyes that he would get when he was trying to get with a girl.

"Yeah, I'm going with Isaiah. We'll be there around eight or so. I assume you're going?" Casey knew Jonathan didn't like Isaiah and she almost seemed to be showing off the fact she was going with him.

"Of course! You know you really should come to my place before the party?" Casey looked at Jonathan knowing full well what he was implying.

"Oh yeah, and why's that?" Jonathan smirked at her thinking that she was catching the vibe he was trying to throw off.

"Well, free liquor is always good." Jonathan leaned into her and smiled with a bit of a seductive look in his eyes. Casey put her finger on his shoulder, smiling at him she pushed him away from her.

"I'm sure there will be plenty of that at the party though. Maybe we'll talk after." Casey watched as the look on Jonathan's face went from seductive to surprise and embarrassed. Mike was watched as Casey rejected Jonathan and started laughing at the look on his face.

"Oh ho, shot down by the fat girl!" he hollered. Jonathan stood up quickly and sat back in his original seat still surprised that Casey rejected him. He just assumed that she would accept the invitation maybe if Isaiah hadn't been there things would have went his way. He had already been rejected by Katelyn who he thought was probably the hottest girl he knew, but Casey would have been good enough for now, he was just looking to get off at the end of the night anyway.

"Shut up, Mike! Whatever!" The bus slowly came to a full stop and Jonathan watched Isaiah and Casey get up and walk off the bus. Jonathan couldn't stand even being in the same room as Isaiah let alone the bus. There were a lot of rumours floating around that he was gay and Jonathan was completely convinced that they were true. Once in awhile he would catch Isaiah in an awkwardly long stare, never at him, but at Caleb his best friend. He had noticed that Caleb and Isaiah had been chatting a few times today and it really bothered him. It was bad enough today that Caleb was the only thing stopping him from giving Isaiah a few good punches here and there, but he didn't want them to be friends. Just the thought of what could happen was enough to make Jonathan want to hurt somebody. The thought of two guys together was disgusting to him, it would be even worse if it was his best friend. The worst part about it was that Jonathan wasn't convinced that Caleb felt the same way he did. He certainly didn't think that Caleb would ever be interested in another guy, but he would tolerate it and that's what scared him. Jonathan stood up and walked to the back of the bus where Mike and Andrew were sitting. "Man, I know that Isaiah's a fag. Don't you guys think so?" Mike looked at Jonathan caught off guard by his bluntness.

"Where did that come from?" asked Mike.

"Not really anywhere. I just know he's a fuckin' faggot. I'm going to have to kick his ass next time I get a chance." Jonathan was clearly irritated. Andrew looked at Jonathan feeling the same way and wanting in on the action.

"Man, fags are gross. Lemme know when you're gonna do it. I think he is too, but Caleb is always around when you say something so I just don't bother. Not worth the trouble of having him pissed at me," explained Andrew.

"Man, Caleb won't even know about it. I don't know why he sticks up for him anyway. He even does when we're not at the games or the gym."

"Well, he has to put on the front, you know, and he's good at it. That's why he's the team captain." Andrew shrugged his shoulders and stared at Jonathan for a moment. Jonathan got up and let out a sigh in frustration, he walked over and sat back in his seat.

Isaiah and Casey walked down the street towards his house as they often did. Casey lived a few blocks away from him so she would just get let out at his stop to spend the extra time together. Isaiah walked this road every day for his entire school career. There were only a few houses on it, his parents and some neighbours that they really didn't speak to often. He lived in the small house with his mother Carla, his father had passed away when he was only three of prostate cancer and his grand parents were all dead. This made Isaiah and Carla extremely close, they were used to only having each other. Carla worked as a manager at the local grocery store, not a glorious job by any means but it was enough to keep them in a place to stay and food. They shortly came to Isaiah's house.

"What time did you wanna leave for the party?" asked Casey stopping to look at him.

"I don't know, you're driving, you tell me." Isaiah stopped and looked at her thinking for a second. "I'd like to just go and get it over with though, I know I'm going to be almost having an anxiety attack until my feet are solidly in his yard anyway."

"Alright well I'll call you later. I wasn't thinking of going until like eight or so."

"Okay, cool I will talk to you then." Casey nodded to Isaiah and continued on her way home, Isaiah walked up to the front door of his house and walked in. His house was a small two bedroom bungalow with a basement that led right off the foyer. Stepping in the house you stood in the kitchen, walking into the kitchen turning right was the hallway that adjoined the living room, bathroom, Carla's room and Isaiah's room at the end of the hall. Isaiah took off his shoes and walked in to his bedroom. His mother wouldn't be home for just over an hour so, he decided to sit at home and get some of his homework done. He wanted to try to take his mind off the already building anxiety about the party.

Sheena walked back up the stairs with a glass of water in her hand, they had been home for an hour and Caleb hadn't come to look for her. She had been so angry at him for most of the day she decided that she would just let this whole incident slide. Sheena walked into the bedroom, Caleb was asleep on the bed Sheena stayed quiet and approached the bed she looked at him. Caleb was beautiful, his short black hair and hazel bedroom eyes, together with his smooth olive coloured skin would be enough to drive any girl crazy. She was the envy of every girl in school and that was her favourite part. She loved being in public with him and showing everyone what they had, she loved him but the physical part of their relationship was her favourite. The sunlight peeked in through the curtains and landed on Caleb's chest. Sheena smiled and still stayed silent she walked over to him and sat down next to him. She could hear his breathing and watched as his chest heaved up and down, she put her hand on his stomach and slowly lifted his shirt to admire his abdominal muscles. Caleb breathed in deeply and rolled on his side facing her. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at her, she smiled at him.

"How'd you sleep?" she whispered. Caleb sat up and rested on one arm, he yawned then got up from the bed and walked over to his computer.

"Good." Caleb looked back at her as he sat at his desk. "Are you alright?" Caleb sat and looked at her for a second. She seemed reasonably calm but sometimes she would come at him out of nowhere with her anger.

"Yes I'm alright. Are you ok?" Caleb smiled at her then turned around, he opened a program on his computer. He had to make sure that his parents new what was going to be going on at the house tonight. His parents didn't have many rules their main ones were no drugs, something that was sometimes difficult with Sheena, and no parties with out them being notified of it going on.

"I'm alright I just have to write my dad an email." Caleb started to type at his computer for a few minutes as Sheena looked on. After watching him type she started to get irritated with him not paying attention to her. Sheena stood up off the bed and walked over and looked at the screen.

"Caleb, what are you telling him about? Get off the computer and come cuddle with me," she whined.

"I've just gotta let them know what's going on tonight so that they don't come home in the middle of it and ruin everything," explained Caleb as he continued to type. He knew that was a lie, they wouldn't be coming home, he just wanted to get it done and over with.

"I thought they were gone for the weekend," said Sheena confused.

"Well, they're supposed to be, but you never know."

"Come on babe." Sheena put her arms around his neck and started to kiss his neck slowly. Caleb cocked his head to the side and gave her an annoyed looked pushing her away.

"Can you hold on for just a minute so I can get this email sent off?" Caleb's annoyance was clearly reflecting in his voice. Sheena took her hand off him and walked back over to sit on the bed equally annoyed.

"Alright, whatever." Sheena looked at him with her arms crossed.

"I'm sorry," Caleb's voice changed from annoyed to apologetic almost seeming to kiss up to her, "I just need to do this or else they get super mad at me when they come back. Dad already has the time lock on the truck set for tomorrow for when he found that pot you left in my drawer. You're lucky that I'm still allowed to see you right now." Sheena knew he was right, most of the time he got into some kind of trouble it was her fault either directly or indirectly, another point that she couldn't argue.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry." Sheena walked back over to him and rested her hand on his shoulder. She watched as he typed a few more words and hit "Enter" on the keyboard sending the message to his father.

"Finally." Caleb hated doing these reports to his parents, but if he didn't they would be angry and he would loose the truck for even longer. They had camera's watching the outside of the house so if he had a party without telling them it would be over for him. Sheena giggled and kissed him on the neck again.

"Good," she said quietly, "Now, where were we?" Caleb smiled and looked back at her.

"You were the one leading the way." Sheena slowly kissed him as he stood up. Caleb put his hands on her waste as they started to kiss passionately for a few short moments. Sheena put her hands up his shirt and started to rub his strong, broad chest. Sheena pulled from the kiss and smiled at him then looked back at the bed briefly then back at him. She began to back up slowly toward the bed, Caleb followed her lead as they walked to the bed she grabbed him and started to rub him. Caleb quickly got up on the bed and laid down on his back, they continued to kiss heavily as they moved into position with Sheena straddling him. Sheena leaned in and started to suck on Caleb's neck then opened his shirt and started to kiss down his chest. Sheena began to undo his pants just as his cellphone rang. "Shit."

"Don't answer it," Sheena whispered.

"I have to. It might be Jonathan on his way over." Caleb fumbled through his pocket and pulled out his phone. Sheena let out a frustrated sigh and got off him.

"Is it really that important." Caleb looked at her frustrated and put the phone to his ear.

"Hey man, what's up?"

"Not much, brother. Ready to start the party? I got the booze, big boy," said Jonathan's voice from the phone.

"Yeah man, you can come over. What time is it anyway?" Caleb looked at the clock on his end table. "Shit six thirty? I should go unlock the door. Peeps are probably already on the lawn. See you soon."

"Awesome. Later." Jonathan hung up his phone and Caleb put his phone back into his pocket and sat up on the bed doing up his shirt. Sheena sat back on the bed and tried to lean into him, Caleb pushed her back and stood up.

"So what, let them wait for another half hour or so. Do you think they'll care?" Caleb kissed her on the cheek and headed downstairs. Sheena hit the pillow out of frustration.

"Sheena, people are gonna start showing up!" Caleb called out from downstairs.

"Whatever, you idiot." Sheena stood up and walked downstairs.


	2. Chapter 2: The Party

Isaiah looked in the bathroom mirror that sat above his sink, he stood shirtless with a towel wrapped around his waist. He had just gotten out of the shower and after shaving had put some soap on his face. The foam from the soap sitting on his face was starting to tingle letting him know it was almost time to take it off. The sun was shining in the bathroom on him giving his newly washed skin a healthy glow. He looked at his body, it hadn't always been like it was now, he was in decent shape after lots of challenging work before he had joined the football team. Two years ago, Isaiah had first noticed Caleb, he was just an average teenager when he decided he wanted to join the football team. He secretly started to go to the school gym after making sure that he was going to be the only one there. He planned it out for almost a month and watched for when people would be there, so he could avoid them. After securing the regulars schedule he went whenever he would have to but he made sure he went everyday and researched everything he was supposed to do. The only person that noticed at first was Casey until he tried out for the team, unfortunately he didn't get to be as bulky as he would have liked but he still managed to maintain his slender muscular build. Isaiah turned the taps on and ran his hands under the water to check the temperature, he stared in the mirror, as the water started to steam it started to fog up. Isaiah filled his hands with the warm water and splashed it on his face rubbing lightly to get all the soap off. Isaiah shut the water off and stopped for a few seconds staring in the mirror, he could see the nervousness starting to shine through each step closer he came to being ready for this party. At this point he wanted to just go and get it over with, he was sure once he had gotten there his nerves would rest a bit more because he would able to at least talk to Caleb. He was going to try hard not to be awkward but right now his anxiety was almost overwhelming. Isaiah squirted some hair gel from a bottle into his hand and looked in the mirror again.

"Just remember, he asked you to come so you pretty much have to." Isaiah whispered to himself and started to rub the gel through his hair. The sticky feeling of the gel was something Isaiah had become used to, this was something he did every morning except for days before games for obvious reasons. He slowly styled his hair into an up do, positioning each spike individually with his hands as he finished he looked in the mirror and checked each side of his head then washed the excess gel off his hands. Isaiah stopped for a second then looked at his shirt sitting on the counter, slightly aggravated. He had forgotten to put his shirt on before doing his hair. "I'm worse off then I thought." Isaiah laughed quietly to himself then put his pants on, he slid his belt through each loop of his jeans. He didn't really need it but he liked the way it looked, he did up the buckle and picked up his shirt putting his arms into the sleeves. Isaiah slid the shirt carefully over his head trying desperately to avoid his hair managing to get it on without messing up what he had done. This wasn't the first time Isaiah had forgotten and put gel in his hair without putting his shirt on first. It had become a regular occurrence before tests and other events that racked his nerves, he had become somewhat of a pro at fixing the situation. Isaiah took one last look in the mirror checking his hair, sprayed on his favourite cologne and then walked out into the kitchen. Carla was sitting at the kitchen table doing a crossword and drinking from a coffee, something she would do often after she got home from work. Isaiah looked at the time, it was five to seven. "Mom, I'm heading out. Not sure if I'll be back tonight. I might stay with Casey."

"Where are you going anyway?" asked Carla looking up from her crossword book.

"Well, we won today. Caleb invited me over to the victory party at his place."

"That's good. Good for you to get out with your teammates once in awhile. Call me if you need anything okay." Isaiah made sure that Carla wasn't fully aware of what he really thought of most of his teammates or what they thought of him. Since Isaiah's father had died and her parents had been claimed in a car accident when she was young. She had a bad habit of worrying about him when it wasn't really necessary.

"Okay, I will. See you tomorrow." Isaiah put his shoes on and walked out onto the step leading up to the house door. Isaiah looked around at the outside for a few seconds it was a nice day and it was going to be a nice night. The warm, end of Spring, air blew across his face and the sun was still quite high in the sky, it was perfect weather for a party, or at least he imagined it was. Isaiah reached in his pocket and took out his cell phone, he opened it and looked at Caleb's number on the screen. His phone was an older model his mother had gotten a few years back, so it was a bit clunky. He only had a basic plan his mother paid for monthly just something she could use to keep in touch with him. He had gotten Caleb's number when he first joined he team he had never actually called it, it was only for an emergency should he have to miss practise or a game. Isaiah could feel his nerves building so he just hit the call button and exhaled as he put it to his ear. It rang twice before anyone picked up. "Hey Caleb?" Isaiah said quickly and obviously nervous.

"Nope," said the female voice on the other end. Isaiah almost panicked thinking if he had the right number or not. "Just a second Isaiah." He shortly realised it was Sheena answering Caleb's phone. "Caleb!" she yelled. There was a brief pause. "He'll be here in a second. So, you're coming tonight, right?" Sheena had an expectant tone in her voice that Isaiah had never heard from her before. Isaiah was still trying to suppress the nervousness in his voice.

"Um, yeah. I just don't have a drive." Isaiah did have a drive he would just have to wait until Casey decided to go but he wanted to get there and didn't want to wait. "I forgot when I said I'd come over." Isaiah laughed nervously.

"Cool, we'll get you here." Isaiah was curious as to why she was being so nice, he hadn't seen this part of Sheena before, she was in an unusually good mood. "Caleb should have thought of that when he was telling you to come, though." Sheena's attitude started to come through in her words making it slightly more familiar. "Oh, here he is." Sheena passed Caleb the phone and Isaiah took a deep breath.

"Hello?" said Caleb.

"Hey Caleb, um, it's Isaiah." Isaiah felt like he sounded stupid and felt the embarrassment move through him.

"Oh, hey bud!" Caleb's tone became slightly more up beat, almost happy to hear from him. "So, are you coming out tonight?" Caleb's voice made it easy for Isaiah to start to relax.

"Yeah, but I forgot I really don't have a way there."

"Oh shit. I can't come get you. Just hold on a second though, I'll call Jonathan. He's on his way here right now." Isaiah swallowed hard at the sound of the idea.

"Is that a…" It was to late Caleb had already placed him on hold. "… guess so?" Isaiah felt anxiety in the pit of his stomach he really didn't want to be alone in a car with Jonathan. A few awkward seconds pass Isaiah looked around as he waited for Caleb to come back almost getting impatient.

Caleb placed Isaiah on hold and looked through his phone for Jonathans number, he had already started drinking so there was no way he was going to drive in his condition. Caleb was sitting in his bedroom on his bed to avoid the crowd while he talked on his phone, Sheena walked back in the bedroom.

"Caleb why didn't you make sure he had a drive before you started drinking, you've done it for other people on the team for their first party?" she asked irritated. Caleb looked up at her with an annoyed look on his face, still not wanting to deal with her attitude he went back to his phone.

"I'm getting Jonathan to pick him up." Caleb selected Jonathan's number and hit the call button on his phone and put it back to his ear it started to ring.

"That's a great idea, what if Jonathan does something to him, you know they don't get along." Caleb gave her an irritated look and pointed to the phone, Sheena let out her trademark sigh and left the room. Jonathan picked up his phone after four rings.

"Hey C-man what's up? I'm just on my way over now."

"Good then I've got great timing. I need you to swing by and pick Isaiah up." Jonathan was silent for a few seconds Caleb was already expecting resistance, but Jonathan was the only person who hadn't already been drinking.

"Man are you serious, I don't want that faggot in my car." Caleb rolled his eyes at Jonathan's remark and chose to ignore it.

"Yeah I'm serious," Caleb paused, "Can you just do this? I'd go but I've already started drinking and I can't drink and drive, can I?" Caleb decided that guilt would probably work best on Jonathan being his best friend.

"No you can't I'll go get him." There was a brief pause, as Jonathan seemed to be thinking. "Why do you want that guy there so bad anyway?"

"No particular reason dude, I just think he's a good guy and if he hung out with us more then he would start to fit in better with the team."

"Alright Caleb whatever you say, I'm coming up on his street now tell him to be ready."

"Alright thanks buddy. I'll tell him." Caleb hung up with Jonathan and pushed the button on his phone to go back to Isaiah.

There was a click in Isaiah's ear and Caleb was back.

"Yeah, I got him. He's like right around the corner, so be ready. He's got that red beater he drives."

"Oh okay." Isaiah looked down the street and could see Jonathan's car turning the corner. "I see him."

"See you soon."

"Cool. Later." Isaiah closed his phone as Caleb hung up on the other end Jonathan's car abruptly pulled into the yard. The old red car Jonathan drove was something his parents gave him for his sixteenth birthday it was an old station wagon, the nickname for it at school was ironically enough the shaggin' wagon. At least that was what Jonathan told everyone, Isaiah had learned from Casey that it was still his parent's car they just let him use it and would often take it from him at the worst times. Isaiah walked down the steps and toward the car, with each step he could feel anxiety building. He feared what Jonathan might do to him since they were alone. Isaiah walked over to the side of the car and looked in the window, Jonathan leaned over and unlocked the door then motioned with his hand for Isaiah to get in. Isaiah opened the door and sat down in the car and pulled the door shut. "Hey."

"You're lucky that Caleb caught me so close." Jonathan turned to look behind him as he backed the car out of the driveway. He didn't really like the idea of Isaiah being in his car, if people saw him what would they think. The car backed out of the yard and got on the street. Jonathan decided that he was going to drive quickly so that people wouldn't be able to see him, he was only doing this because Caleb asked him.

"Yeah, thanks. I should have told Casey to come get me but she left pretty quickly to go get ready."

"She gonna be there tonight?" Jonathan got a look in his eye that Isaiah had become all too familiar with. When Jonathan talked about women he would get a smirk on his face and his right eyebrow would rise. Jonathan looked back and forth from the road to Isaiah as he drove expectantly.

"She's coming later on," said Isaiah wish Jonathan would just sit in silence for the drive.

"Cool." Jonathan paused as the car took a turn. "She say anything about me?" Isaiah figured the best way to keep from being in an anymore uncomfortable situation then he was already in was to tell Jonathan what he wanted to here.

"Just that she thinks you're hot." Isaiah wouldn't say anything that he thought Casey didn't want Jonathan to hear.

"That's good." Jonathan paused as the car took another turn, it was obvious to Isaiah that they were taking the back roads. "Is she right?" Isaiah heard the question but wasn't sure if he was hearing correctly. Isaiah looked at him confused for a second before speaking.

"What?" he asked. Isaiah was now extremely uncomfortable but was trying to ready himself for what was about to come. Jonathan had an almost fiendish smirk on his face.

"Well, is she right?" Still not sure Isaiah tried to draw out the question.

"I don't understand what you mean?"

"Am I hot or what?" Isaiah was starting to become frustrated he could see what Jonathan was doing.

"I'm not sure what you're getting at, but you being who you are kinda gets in my way." Isaiah paused, crossed his arms and looked out the window, the passing scenery let him know that they were only a minute or so away from the Caleb's house. They were getting into the more well-off part of town. The houses here were large and expensive looking most of them having a pool or some other luxury that most people didn't have in a regular house. "Why are you so determined to find out who I'm into, anyway?" Jonathan's smile faded, and he looked intently at Isaiah, the car started to slow down. Isaiah wasn't sure what to expect but didn't want to look at him for fear of what he might see.

"What are you implying?" Jonathan's tone was accusing and irritated. Jonathan was trying to get Isaiah to say that he thought another guy was attractive to confirm his suspicions. If Isaiah had said yes Jonathan planned on pulling over and beating him senseless then saying he had made a pass at him. This wasn't something that Jonathan expected, usually Isaiah submitted to him pretty easily, he was never this brave before.

"I'm not implying anything but you're pretty into my sexuality, is all," said Isaiah frustrated. Jonathan stayed silent it was apparent that Isaiah had made him uncomfortable. The car started to move at a normal pace again and Isaiah looked at Jonathan briefly then back to the road. They could see the house as they approached, there were cars parked on both sides of the road, Isaiah could see people walking from their cars and into the house. There was definitely a large turn out for the party, given it would be or could be the last one of the season at least at Caleb's place. As they got closer Isaiah could see several familiar faces including people from the team itself and other people from school. Then there was the people that he didn't recognise at all that were most likely friends from the area that the other students knew. He would always hear about the crowds of people that would flock to these parties but never witnessed it in person. Jonathan remained silent as they arrived at their destination, as the car parked several members of the team approached them and Jonathan got out of the car walking to meet them. Isaiah sat in the car awkwardly thinking for a moment before he got out of the car and walked over to them, they seemed to ignore him at approach. "Hey guys what's up?" Andrew and Mike were the only two people that even looked at him from the group.

"Never see you outside of practise and games. Where do you spend all your time?" Andrew's question was short and to the point, Isaiah was surprised that he was speaking to him at all.

"Yeah, I'm around I guess. A lot of schoolwork. I'm taking a lot of university prep courses this semester." It was true only recently had Isaiah really had time to breath, he had been so bogged down in homework. This was another of the many reasons he didn't come to these parties, although it was a minor reason, it was one of the ones he would throw out there more often. It was probably the reason that most of the team thought he was a bookworm.

"So you're not going for a football scholarship like the rest of us?" Andrew looked at him not surprised at all. He didn't really think Isaiah was good enough to get a scholarship, and he certainly wasn't big enough to carry on into the university scene.

"Nah, I've already got academic scholarships lined up." Isaiah was pretty confident in his intellect and because of this was sure he would end up at whatever university he wanted. There was a bit of an awkward silence and Isaiah looked down at his feet, he wanted to go find Caleb, but he didn't want to be rude and just walk away either. Mike looked at Isaiah and could tell he was for the most part the cause of the awkward silence. He knew that Jonathan wasn't going to speak with him there and could also tell that Andrew was being unusually nice to him for the sake of public appearance.

"Caleb is in the house somewhere, I think; probably the kitchen," said Mike breaking the silence, "There's plenty of drinks in there for everyone too." Isaiah rejoiced inside that Mike was trying to shoo him away and put on a fake smile as he spoke.

"Thanks, Mike." Isaiah looked up at the house that was a decent distance from where they stood right next to the property line on the sidewalk. "I think I'm gonna go see about that. I'll see you guys later." Andrew and Mike nodded to him as he walked away. Isaiah let out a sigh of relief as he walked up to the house. He walked up the paved driveway, Caleb's house sat some distance away from where they were standing. The property was large and like the other houses on the street they were far apart from their neighbours, making it the perfect place for a party, the music could be loud, and no one would complain because no one would hear it loud enough to bother. There were people scattered in groups all over the property as he walked Isaiah began to realise why everyone came to the parties here, because everybody else did. The groups scattered about were all different cliques of people, gothic, punk, hip-hop, the "smart kids", the jocks, and even those who were considered the "outcasts" of the school. Isaiah made it to the door and stared up at it almost intimidated to open it. He could hear the music blaring loudly inside, something he didn't recognise but it was some kind of rap music. Isaiah exhaled and put his hand on the doorknob turning it and walking in, the music seems to hit him like a ton of bricks, it was so loud he could hardly hear himself talk let alone anyone else. He walked into the house the large living room was packed with people, Isaiah couldn't believe that there was this many people there, word must have spread quickly after Jonathan's open display on the bus. Isaiah pushed his way through the crowd, seeing several familiar faces, most of which he knew from classes, but he did have a few fans amid all his time on the team. A few members of the team acknowledged him, others didn't, a few of the girls that regularly hung out with the team gave him a random hug. He finally pushed his way through the crowd and made it to the kitchen door.

Caleb was sitting in the kitchen; the party was blaring in the living room, but he couldn't seem to get himself into the partying mood. Sheena's excessive amount of attitude was still taking its toll. He sat against the counter and looked at the cold beer in his hands, he had only had two, he started to think maybe that had something to do with him not being in the mood yet. As an unset rule he would probably have about eight for the night, if he wanted to have a heavy night and at this point he did. Even though Sheena was kind of bringing him down the fact that Isaiah was going to be there was something that made him feel a little happier. He looked up at the kitchen clock Isaiah would probably be there any minute he had gotten off the phone about fifteen minutes ago. Caleb took a drink of the beer in his hand and drank half of it down almost instantly trying to hurry the process up a bit. He swallowed the last of what was in his mouth, it went down hard the fizz burning the back of his throat as it often did. Caleb wasn't particularly fond of the actual process of drinking he just liked the feeling he got from it and he really disliked the taste of beer. The only reason he drank it at this point was because it was the easiest for him to get a hold of, his father kept it in the house for easy access when he was home. His parents didn't mind him drinking at their house because they could see what he was doing having security camera's in the living room and kitchen. Caleb's father although he was a lawyer, had a bit of fancy for electronics and gadgets and he had all the money he needed to try out the latest security system or computerized mechanism like the one in Caleb's truck. If he wanted to keep the truck from Caleb, he would just use his computer and basically flick a switch and set a time and the truck wouldn't start. Caleb thought about Sheena for a minute. How could anyone that supposedly loved him treat him this way, she talked to him all the time like he was an idiot, if he was talking it couldn't be worth saying. All she did was hang off him in public and in private, unless she was trying to have sex with him or get him to buy her something with the credit card his parents gave him, then she was yelling at him or giving him some kind of attitude or calling him stupid. Thinking about it Caleb's eyes started to well up, it was something he felt that he really could not talk to anyone about. His parents were gone all the time with work, he didn't feel that his friends were the type of people he could show any emotion to without being teased or seen as weak. The only person that he could even come close to talking to about his feelings was his uncle Caesar who was also their housekeeper, but he still didn't like talking to him about this type of issue. Caleb wiped his eyes and just as he lowered his arm Isaiah walked through the door. Caleb was happy to see him, though he didn't really know why, he still had a distraught look on his face that he was trying to hide.

"Oh, hey man! Glad you could make it. Thanks for coming." Caleb reached out and shook Isaiah's hand with a smile on his face. Isaiah smiled back at him obviously happy to see him.

"No problem, dude. What's up?" asked Isaiah. Isaiah looked at him almost suspiciously as he pulled from the hand shake.

"Oh, not much." Caleb tried not to seem distracted as he spoke, but it didn't seem like it was working.

"You okay?" Isaiah tried to look Caleb in the eye, but he turned his head quickly looking at the fridge.

"Oh, ah yeah. Just a little distracted." Caleb walked over to the fridge and looked in at the vast supply of alcohol. There were bottles and cans of all assorted brands and colours. "So, you want a drink?" he asked.

"Yeah for sure. What are my options?" Isaiah walked over and stood beside Caleb glancing in at the alcohol he had never seen so much alcohol in one place before.

"Oh, well…" Caleb glanced in at all the different labels. "Ha, yeah, take a look and see what you want, man. Everyone brought some." Caleb left the door open and walked back over to the counter to his original position. Caleb watched Isaiah closely while he chose his drink from the fridge, he caught himself staring as Isaiah stood up with a can in his hand and looked at the ground.

"Cool, thanks." Isaiah turned around and smiled at him as he opened the can and took a sip from the drink shutting the fridge behind him. The brief look of surprise on Isaiah's face from the taste of his drink told Caleb that Isaiah wasn't anymore of a drinker then he was, probably even less. Isaiah walked over and stood about three feet away from Caleb and stood in front of him. "So what's on your mind?" asked Isaiah. Caleb looked up at Isaiah clearly caught off guard that he was picking up on how distraught he really was.

"What?"

"You said you were distracted. By what?"

"Oh, just lady trouble. Sheena is moody today. I think it's that time of the month or something," said Caleb laughing it off.

"Ah, I know how that is." Isaiah blatantly lied, he had never had a girlfriend to compare the experience too. The closest thing he had was Casey and when the time came for her to start having mood swings she would just disappear for a few days or make up some excuse not to hang out with him.

"Yeah." Caleb was uncomfortable with the topic and tried to think of a new subject quickly before it continued. "So, I don't think you and I have ever really talked in detail, but I do know some stuff about you." Isaiah and Caleb both smiled at each other staring for a few seconds.

"Oh yeah, like what?" asked Isaiah curious. Isaiah had never imagined that Caleb paid any attention to him let alone knew anything about him.

"Well," Caleb began feeling like he may be getting ready to take a step into the uncomfortable zone and he wasn't sure how Isaiah would react, but he kept going anyway, "I know you're a smart guy. Knowing that, I don't know why you decided to join the football team. I know you're taking a ton of university prep courses. I don't know how you do it all at the same time and still manage to do well in both." Caleb stared at Isaiah watching for any sign of him being offended but he didn't see anything. Isaiah smiled, his green eyes seemed to be shining under the fluorescent light that hummed above their head. Caleb repositioned himself against the counter and smiled back at him again, Caleb began to feel a deep comfort just being in Isaiah's presence. He still didn't know why but he enjoyed making this connection with him.

"Yeah, this is why I don't come to many of these parties," said Isaiah.

"Many?" Caleb stood up straight and took a sip of his drink. "You mean any!" Isaiah shook his head agreeing with Caleb who was being rather enthusiastic.

"Okay, I'll give you that!" he laughed. Just then a girl walked through the door and walked over to them. She was dressed rather scantily in a low-cut shirt, showing off her cleavage, and a short frilly skirt. It was clear to both of them that she was only there trying to get with one of their teammates, she almost looked like a shorter version of Sheena.

"Hi Caleb," she said. The girl was clearly not very smart, her personality seemed to be close to that of Stephanie and Caleb had in his head summed it up in one word, ditzy. "Awesome party! Thanks for letting me come." Caleb shot Isaiah a glance then looked at the girl, clearly having no idea who she was.

"Hey, no problem." Caleb was almost unsure as he spoke, not sure what to say. "Happy to have you here." She smiled at both of them then walked over to the fridge and grabbed a couple of bottles from the bottom shelf. Looking at them one last time she giggled and walked out of the kitchen. Isaiah stared at the door for a few seconds then looked at Caleb with a confused look on his face.

"Who was that?"

"Pft. Hell if I know! I guess she's been here before though!" Caleb laughed. Caleb gulped the last of his beer and grabbed another one from the fridge. He was starting to feel better, he wasn't sure if it was the alcohol doing it or if it was the conversation with Isaiah that made him feel this way or if it was a combination of both. "Well, I guess I better go and keep up my appearance."

"Okay. Maybe I'll talk to you later."

"For sure." Caleb turned and walked through the door back into the living room. Isaiah followed closely behind him. Caleb stepped out into the living room and clapped his hands into the air getting the attention of most of the room. The playlist that had been going had apparently ended because the music was not playing. "Alright biotches, let's get this party started!" Caleb grabbed a remote control off a small end table sitting by the door and the music starts to play again but louder then before. The crowd began whooping and hollering and Isaiah shortly followed through the kitchen door. Casey emerged from the crowd and walked up to him while Caleb seemed to disappear into the crowd.

"Thanks for ditching me, asshole," Casey leaned into Isaiah and spoke into his ear over the music. "You could of at least called me."

"Sorry. I just wanted to get here and get it over with. I was nervous about coming." Isaiah crossed his arms as he spoke into her ear. Casey looked at him not really believing him.

"Sure," she said sarcastically. Casey figured Isaiah was just trying to get more time around Caleb she had noticed them both come out of the kitchen. She was sure he was confusing his excitement for nervousness. Casey looked around at the crowd, this was certainly the most people that she had seen at one of these parties. The only people that she even recognised were the guys from the football team. "Wow, there's more here then I've seen in a while. Word travelled fast, I guess." Isaiah nodded his head in agreement then leaned into her again.

"Did you talk to Jonathan? He was asking about you earlier."

"Yeah I talked to him already. I'm going to his house after the party, whenever that'll be." Isaiah looked at Casey surprised that she would go home with Jonathan just like that.

"I don't know. I have a feeling Caleb isn't about to keep this going all night. Sheena's been a huge bitch lately. He seems really stressed about it but only time will tell, I guess." Isaiah leaned in closer and cupped his hand around his mouth, so she could hear him better. "Seems pretty interested in sparking up conversation with me though. I don't know what changed." It was true Isaiah didn't realise what was any different in their situation then before.

"Really? Did you get to the part about you joining the team just to get close to him?" Casey smiled widely at Isaiah waiting for a response. The look on Isaiah's face changed to panic obviously worried about who might hear her talking, even though she wasn't lying.

"Not quite, and keep your voice down!" Casey looked around at the people standing close to them, most of which were heavily involved in conversations of their own or they were dancing. The music was so loud she was sure she could scream at the person standing next to her and they still wouldn't hear her unless they were trying.

"No one can hear me over this music," she reassured. Jonathan walked up behind Casey and put his arms on her waist and started to kiss her neck. Casey looked back at him and smiled.

"Hey baby. What are you guys talking about? Let's get wild up in this place!" Jonathan urged. Casey awkwardly glanced at Isaiah then back at Jonathan.

"Sounds like a plan." Casey turned to face Jonathan and they started to dance. Isaiah didn't particularly like the idea of dancing he was too scared about what he might look like. He decided he was going to go and explore the house and maybe a bit of the outside, some air would do him good. Casey looked at him as he started to walk away she placed her hand on his shoulder and leaned into him. "Loosen up, have a little fun." Isaiah forced a smile and started to make his way back through the crowd. He walked passed Sheena and Caleb dancing. Caleb looked up and smiled at him, he reached out and stopped him then leaned away from Sheena who flashed a quick smile at Isaiah.

"You're not leaving already are you?" said Caleb in Isaiah's ear. The smell of Caleb's cologne was almost intoxicating to Isaiah as he talked. His breath touched as Isaiah's ear and it almost sent chills down his spine.

"I… I was just going for a walk. I need some air." Caleb smiled at him.

"Don't go far." Isaiah smiled and continued to walk through the crowd of people. Caleb watched as Isaiah walked away then slowly moved back to Sheena who was looking at him with a questioning look on her face.

"Is he alright?" she asked.

"He's just nervous cus' he's never been to one of these parties before." Sheena looked in the direction that Isaiah had walked and saw the door open as he walked out.

"Well do you wanna go see if he's okay?" asked Sheena. Sheena had an unfamiliar look of compassion on her face, Caleb knew that Isaiah was the only team member that she liked or at least tolerated. So he decided he would take the opportunity to follow Isaiah to make sure he was ok.

"Yeah I'm going to go. I'll be back soon." Sheena nodded her head and they kissed then she touched his face and smiled. Caleb nodded at her and started his way through the crowd. Almost all the people there were people that Caleb either went to school with or was a team mate. As he walked past everyone nodded and smiled or gave him a high five or some other congratulatory gesture. As he walked he made sure that Isaiah wasn't amongst the crowd. Caleb didn't see him, so he assumed that he had gone outside and opened the front door and walked out. As Caleb stepped outside the fresh air hit face forcing him to realise just how hot it had gotten inside. The sun was still visible and the evening sky was starting to show all of its colours. Caleb took a deep breath of the fresh air taking in the smell of the grass and the late spring evening. Caleb looked around and couldn't see Isaiah anywhere, but he had spotted Chris standing with a group of people and walked over to them still looking around to see if he could spot Isaiah. "Hey, Chris, what's up?" Chris greeted him with a smile. "Having fun so far?"

"Yeah buddy. You?" Chris smiled and raised a drink to him. "Great time as always here."

"Good, good." Caleb touched his beer to Chris's drink and lowered it back to his side. "Hey, did you see Isaiah come outside?" Chris looked at Caleb confused caught off guard by the question.

"Um, not really why?" Chris stopped and thought briefly.

"Oh I just wanna make sure he's having a good time, it's his first time here you know."

"Yeah… he might have gone over to the pool. I didn't see him leave." Chris's tone was suspicious. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine man I don't like it when people come here and don't have a good time you know this." Caleb laughed to break some of the tension and walked over toward the pool and sure enough he could see Isaiah, he looked as though he were looking around. Caleb walked up behind him unheard. Caleb didn't say anything for a few seconds. He had never seen Isaiah dressed up like this before, he really liked the way his hair was done tonight, he had seen it spiked before just tonight seemed different. The clothing he was wearing was definitely different then anything he wore to school, his tight fitting black tee with white sleeves covering his arms and blue jeans really seemed to fit him well showing off the work he had done to his body in the last year or so. Caleb remembered he time he first saw Isaiah, he was the definition of nerd, he wasn't very tall, nor was he in any kind of shape. Caleb always thought he was a cute kid but when he tried to get into shape he really tried and researched it. He thought no one was around at the gym sometimes and Caleb would watch him workout from one of the steps outside the gym that he could see inside the window just by sitting down there and pretending to read a book. Caleb couldn't explain how he felt for Isaiah but up until only recently it had never been so strong before and he wasn't sure how he was going to deal with it. "Hey… you okay?" he asked. Isaiah turned around startled and stared at him for a second. Caleb smiled at Isaiah and he could see him relax.

"Yeah I'm okay. I just needed to breath it's really hot in there with all those people," said Isaiah. Isaiah smiled but then looked at Caleb strangely. "Did you follow me out here?" Caleb looked at Isaiah caught off guard by the question.

"Well, no not really." Caleb looked awkwardly at his feet then back at Isaiah. "Well okay yeah I did, but I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Caleb could feel the blood rushing to his face he was sure he was blushing. "I know you're uncomfortable here and I like to make sure everyone is having a good time." Isaiah looked at Caleb for a few short seconds watching his dark skin get a tint of red to it as he blushed. He was showing a lot of concern for him.

"Honestly I am okay, just a little bit of sensory overload going on in there," explained Isaiah. "Go back in I'm not going to go far I promise." Caleb turned slightly to start walking away keeping eye contact.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Isaiah didn't really want him to go but he didn't want to seem needy.

"Yes go," he laughed, "I'll be fine." Caleb turned and walked away then smiled back at him as he spoke.

"Suit yourself, I'll see you inside." Isaiah smiled back at him and continued to watch him as he walked out of site. Isaiah could hear people all on the deck talking and decided to walk out front but before he could act on the thought Stephanie came walking around the corner. She saw him and walked over to him.

"Hey cutie," she said smiling. Isaiah new what kind of girl Stephanie was, he reputation for being easy was well talked about within the football team. He wasn't about to be another stamp on her card from the team. "What'cha doin?" He didn't have a problem with her personally he just didn't like her reputation and Casey couldn't stand her.

"Not much, I was just about to head back in." Stephanie stepped closer to him and looked him in the eye for a short second smiling at him. "So," he hesitated, "Are you having fun so far?" Stephanie stayed silent and leaned in and kissed him. Isaiah was caught off guard and pulled back. He hadn't kissed a girl since he joined the football team and he had no intention of kissing one today. Isaiah looked at her surprised, she was just as surprised as he was, he could tell as she looked back at him with disappointment in her eyes. "I'm sorry you…"

"I didn't mean to scare you jeez its just a kiss."

"It's okay just a little warning would have been nice." Isaiah wiped his mouth off and looked at her for a second.

"Come on was it really that bad?" Stephanie still looked at him with the confusion in her face. "What, are you a fag or something?"

"Excuse me?" Isaiah was insulted at her insinuation just because he didn't kiss her.

"Sorry I guess I'm just not used to the rejection." Stephanie's face changed to a smile as she looked at him. "You should come dance with me." Isaiah decided it best to avoid the potentially awkward situation this could create.

"Sure," he said simply. Stephanie smiled at him and took his hand and led him quickly back into the house and amidst the crowd of people. She pulled him through the crowd over to Sheena and Caleb who were dancing rather close. Sheena looked over at the two of them as they started to dance and suddenly Stephanie made sense. Caleb looked back and smiled with a bit of surprise on his face. Isaiah was not the type of person who liked to dance. Not that he didn't feel he could he just wasn't comfortable with dancing around other people especially people he knew. He was terrified of what they might think of him, awkwardly he went with the flow of the music. As the two of them danced Stephanie began to get extremely seductive touching and rubbing his body. She smiled at him as she danced and began to put her hands up his shirt lifting it slightly. Caleb looked back at Isaiah dancing still as Stephanie touched him and lifted his shirt he couldn't help but stare. He was particularly impressed with Isaiah's core it was one of the hardest things to get yet he managed to get and maintain an almost perfect six-pack. Isaiah nervously lowered his shirt and took Stephanie's hands to prevent her from doing it again.

A few hours had passed, and Isaiah now found himself standing out on the deck with Caleb, Sheena, Chris, Stephanie and Jonathan. They were standing by the pool; the wind blew slightly the warm summer nights air smelled like fresh cut grass from one of the other houses nearby. Isaiah was actually having a good time, he was glad he'd shown up. The only thing he was particularly not fond of was the fact that Stephanie had been hanging off of him all night. He hadn't been able to get away from her since they danced together, and it was getting tiring entertaining her, but he didn't want to be rude to her nor did he want Caleb thinking he might be interested in her. At this point she had been drinking for several hours, and she wasn't the only one. Although Isaiah was still nursing the same one he had taken from the fridge when he first arrived, he had noticed that Caleb had probably downed about 5 drinks and was feeling pretty good. Sheena, Jonathan and Chris were all pretty well off and he was sure they were all drunk. He wondered how far gone Casey had managed to get herself but with Stephanie around there was no way she was going to approach him. Stephanie and Sheena were having random conversation about things no one else seemed to be interested in. Isaiah was not listening to them in any case, he wasn't really interested in what they had to say at any point. He noticed that Caleb had looked over at him, Isaiah smiled at him then turned away and took a drink of his now warm can of beer. Caleb smiled at him.

"So, you enjoying yourself so far, dude?" he asked.

"Yeah man, it's pretty cool. I'm sorry I've never come to these before."

"Yeah, it's pretty much the same all the time, just people getting together to have some fun." Caleb took another drink from his bottle of Coors and looked at Stephanie and Sheena who had just stopped their conversation. Stephanie once again turned her attention to Isaiah smiling at him.  
"Yeah Isaiah, I'm glad you decided to come too." Stephanie leaned in and touched his chest. "You look really hot tonight." Stephanie was clearly drunk at this point this type of conduct was certainly something Isaiah was used to. He didn't think that any of the girls in school were interested in him and the only one he had ever gotten a compliment from was Casey, but that, he was sure was just patronization. Isaiah awkwardly forced a smile.

"Nah, I'm pretty average," said Isaiah embarrassed.

"Hey man, learn to take a compliment," laughed Caleb.

"I love this shirt on you." Stephanie began to rub her hand across Isaiah's chest.

"Um, thanks Stephanie." Isaiah accepted the compliment reluctantly. Caleb could tell that Chris and Jonathan were clearly uncomfortable. Caleb starred at the ground as the exchange took place but could still see that Jonathan was even beginning to squirm. He was uncomfortable with Stephanie hitting on Isaiah as well, not only because it was Isaiah she was hitting on but because he was aware of her track record and was sure that Isaiah really wouldn't be.

"Isaiah," Caleb lifted his head and looked in Isaiah's direction who met his glance, "did I ever tell you about the time Jonathan and I went to the mall and this chick kept following us around?"

"Awe man, that chick was such a dog, dude," laughed Jonathan. Sheena suddenly had a disgusted look on her face.

"Caleb, that story is so stupid," she interrupted as Caleb took a breath, "I hate it when you tell people about it. It just makes you two look like idiots." Sheena turned to look at Jonathan still with the disgusted look on her face. "If she was such a dog then why did you end up fucking her in the bathroom?" Isaiah looked back and forth between Sheena, Caleb and Jonathan caught off guard by Sheena's blatant disrespect for Caleb. He was sure that this would be the argument that would set Caleb over the edge.

"Oh, fuck off would ya? Pussy is pussy." Caleb's steady smile quickly faded as the exchange took place. He looked at Chris then to Sheena and Stephanie, it was clear that he was angry, Sheena had embarrassed him again and this time for no reason she just couldn't keep her mouth shut. Caleb quickly thought of a reason to get out of there for fear that he might blow up at her, he discretely checked his drink it was almost gone.

"Anyone need a drink refresh? I'm getting a little low." Chris looked at him awkwardly then checked his drink.

"Um yeah, I could use one if you're going, bud," said Chris handing Caleb the bottle he had.

"Cool. How about you, Isaiah?" Caleb looked at Isaiah knowing that he could tell he was angry.

"No thank you," said Isaiah shaking his head accordingly.

"Okay, I'll be right back." Caleb walked back into the house. His emotions were running at an all time high this was it he was done, he couldn't deal with her anymore. He was hoping that they would be able to make it through the party without any kind of incident, but it was clear to him that with Sheena this was asking far too much. He had decided to take the long way to the kitchen, so he would have more time to think of what he would say to her. Caleb walked around the house and in through the main door to the living room, there was still a lot of people in the house and the air was stuff even with the air conditioner running almost full tilt. The music had been turned down and now only added to the background noise that was now most people's voices chattering. He heard glass shattering and stopped to look around to see someone quickly sweeping up the mess, he ignored it and kept walking. Thinking of the mess he was going to have to clean up tomorrow there was no point in doing any cleaning now. Caleb felt a force behind him almost knocking him over, he turned quickly one of the guys from school that Caleb didn't really talk to had fallen into him. Caleb's irritability was getting to a point that he may not be able to control it, he was breathing heavily, and he was sure the look on his face was reflecting his mood. A girl that must have been with him came up and steadied him the guy was extremely intoxicated and almost couldn't stand on his own.

"Hey Caleb, dude, awesome party man," he slurred. The person looked at Caleb with glassed over eyes. The girl with him, who was significantly less intoxicated, and could see that Caleb was not in the mood to deal with her boyfriend right now.

"I'm sorry Caleb."

"Yeah." Caleb nodded and turned back to where he was going and pushed through the rest of the crowd he walked through the door and into the kitchen. There was a group of people standing at the other end of the kitchen talking amongst themselves. Caleb sat the bottles in a box on the floor and then opened the fridge to get replacements. He starred in the fridge for a few long seconds at the selection that had gotten significantly thinner, more then two thirds of what was there was gone.

Caleb had just walked away from them and everyone was still staying quiet Isaiah was extremely uncomfortable being with the very people he didn't like.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom," said Jonathan clearly looking for an excuse to leave the situation. Jonathan walked into the house through the glass door that led to the kitchen, leaving Isaiah with Chris, Sheena and Stephanie. The three of them seemed to be ignoring him as Sheena took a step closer to Chris with a seductive look on her face, clearly flirting. Sheena put her hand on his chest.

"So, Chris, you're looking pretty hot tonight. What are you benching now anyway?" she flirted. Chris smirked at her as the two of them began to get close.

"Like one-forty." Chris put his hand on Sheena's. Isaiah didn't like watching what was happening, Sheena had just completely disrespected Caleb and now she was flirting with Chris, who was supposed to be one of his close friends. Isaiah wasn't sure what was worse at this point, what was happening or the fact that Chris wasn't stopping it.

"Very nice," she said, "Caleb is doing one-sixty right now."

"Caleb is a big boy," said Chris.

"You know he really is." Sheena and Chris were so close that they looked like they were about to kiss. Isaiah decided since he was being ignored anyway he would get out of there before he was witness to something he didn't want to be.

"Um, I better go find Casey. Make sure she's staying out of trouble." Isaiah gave an awkward smile and Chris stopped what he was doing and glared at him.

"Yeah, you do that." Isaiah felt belittled as he walked back around the house to go inside. This type of treatment had gone on for so long, but he still hadn't managed to get used to it yet. He walked into the now quieted living room, people were still scattered around the room most were pretty heavily intoxicated. The only sound in the room was the drunken banter of the party patrons. Isaiah could see Casey and Jonathan talking he walked over to them. Casey was obviously drunk and hitting on Jonathan before he walked over to them, he smiled at Casey as he walked over.

"Hey guys, what's up?" he asked?

"Not much. Just avoiding that mess out on the deck," said Jonathan.

"Yeah tell me about it, dude." For the first time it seemed that Jonathan and Isaiah had found a common ground. Isaiah thought it was probably the alcohol speaking on Jonathan's part.

"I'm sick of her voice. It doesn't take long." Jonathan leaned on the wall and took a drink of his beer.

"I don't know why he stays with her still. She's crazy; I've said this for years," Casey laughed. Caleb quickly walked by them with a couple of drinks in his hand heading toward the deck, he had an angry look on his face.

"Oh, here we go," said Jonathan smiling. Isaiah looked at both of them then watched Caleb not wanting anything bad to happen. Not really sure as to what he could do if something were to happen he decided to follow Caleb.

Caleb walked quickly around the house and back up to Stephanie, Chris and Sheena. As he passed Chris his drink he had noticed that they had gotten unusually close. Caleb was quiet for a few long seconds as he saw Isaiah come up behind him. Sheena walked back over to him and smiled at him she could tell he was angry by looking at his face and she ignored it. Caleb took several steps back from her staying away.

"You know what, Sheena? Why don't you just take off for the night! I'm sick of your shit today," said Caleb angrily. Sheena quickly adapted a venomous expression on her face.

"Excuse me?" Sheena was obviously caught off guard. Caleb looked at her with a expectant look on his face.

"You heard me. I'm not in the mood for this anymore today. Just leave, okay?"

"Um, okay," said Sheena with uncertainty strong in her voice. "Are you at least going to drive me home?" Sheena was furious that Caleb would actually throw her out of the party, she couldn't believe that he was doing this.

"Sheena, I've had like seven tonight so far. I'm not going anywhere in any vehicle unless it's in a passenger seat." Caleb would drink at his house for this reason, he would never drink and drive and he certainly wasn't about to start for Sheena. Caleb was staying out of arms reach, Sheena often tended to get violent when she was drinking and angry.

"Oh my god, you're such a bastard sometimes. I'll see you tomorrow, Stephanie." Sheena looked at Stephanie and smiled one last smug smile then looked at Caleb, still smiling, Sheena threw her glass at him. The glass hit Caleb and splashed her drink all over his shirt. "Fuck you!" Sheena screamed and quickly walked through the yard and down the driveway to her car.

"Stupid bitch!" yelled Caleb. Isaiah was nervous to say anything, but Caleb looked like he was just hung out to dry his shirt dripping with both her cheap alcohol and his own embarrassment. He didn't want to leave him just sitting there with people looking at him. He walked up beside him and looked at him.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Um, sorry." Caleb seemed like he was in a bit of a daze as he wiped his hands over his shirt. "I need to change my shirt." Caleb looked at Isaiah the confusion apparent in his face. "Come with me?" Isaiah didn't really understand why he was asking him to go with him, he nodded, and Caleb started to walk.

"Ah okay." The two of them walk back into the house through the patio doors into the kitchen. They walked passed Casey who made eye contact with Isaiah after looking at Caleb's shirt and smiling at both of them. Jonathan stood with her but just gave Caleb a confused look after noticing that Isaiah was following him. Isaiah followed Caleb through the kitchen and into the living room where the party was still happening. They pushed through the now thinned crowd and walked over to the large elegant staircase that led to the upstairs. Caleb looked back to make sure he hadn't lost Isaiah in the crowd and started to walk with a quicker pace to get up stairs. Isaiah thought of how embarrassing it must be for everyone to see him at a party with a stain on his shirt from the cheap wine Sheena was drinking, everyone had to know what happened by now. If the situation reversed, Isaiah would most likely have curled up under the deck until the party was over to hide from the stares that people were giving Caleb. They walked into Caleb's bedroom, Isaiah had never been here before. As they stepped in Caleb turned on the light revealing the large bedroom, Isaiah was almost in awe at how large the room was. It was almost as big as his mother's room, he looked around slowly as he took it all in, the bed in the centre of the room was bigger then he was used to the computer among other various electronics found in most teenage boy's rooms caught his eye. Isaiah looked at the wall beside the bed, at Caleb's trophy case, Caleb had had his hand in almost all sports that were available at their school before he became the captain of the football team and he managed to excel in everyone one of them. There were several trophies in the case wrestling, soccer, several from football, hockey, basketball, and baseball. Isaiah was quite amazed at Caleb's ability to do well in all these sports at the same time when he was doing them. He didn't think that anyone would consider that being captain of the football team would be a break, but imagining what his schedule used to be he was beginning to consider it. The trophies ranged from all years, he had been collecting them since he was younger, there was even a couple of academic trophies from his earlier years. Caleb walked into the bedroom and took his shirt off throwing it on the floor, Isaiah's attention immediately went to the situation at hand.

"Ah, why did you want me to come with you?" he asked. Caleb walked into his closet seemingly ignoring the question. Isaiah walked over and investigated the closet not having seen a walk-in closet before he was quite impressed by it. Caleb's clothing hung on either side of the closet filling the racks with several different articles of clothing and it seemed to be separated by occasion. There was an entire wall of casual clothing that one would wear to school, a section for his sports gear, his dress wear which was where he was currently picking through and a section for formal wear Isaiah could see several suit and tie ensembles hanging there.

"Sorry you had to see that. She's just been really getting to me this last little while," said Caleb as he continued to look through his shirts.

"I couldn't believe how she just dissed you like that in front of everyone."

"Yeah, she does that too much. I'm sick of it." Caleb took out a blue silk button up and held it up over his chest still on the hanger. "Think this is okay?" Isaiah looked him up and down briefly.

"Um, yeah, it looks good." Isaiah didn't expect the question and just stared at Caleb as he turned back to him to put the shirt on. He watched as Caleb took the shirt off the hanger and put the hanger back on the rack. Isaiah stared at Caleb' body as he turned around to put on the shirt fiddling with the buttons to get it open, he watched as Caleb's skin rippled over the muscle of his back not wanting to be caught but not able to turn away. Everything about Caleb was perfect to Isaiah, the way the musculature in his back moved was almost hypnotizing to him, his skin looked so soft it took everything in Isaiah's person to keep from reaching out and touching him. "You'd look good in anything," Isaiah whispered quietly to himself. Caleb looked back and smiled at him Isaiah quickly shot his glance down at the shoes that lined the floor trying not to be obvious unable to tell if Caleb had actually heard him terrified that he did. This was another thing that Isaiah took notice of the different pair of sneakers and shoes that Caleb had, there had to be at least fifty pairs again for all occasions. Caleb put on his shirt and walked passed him exiting the closet, Isaiah followed him out and he shut the door.

"Cool. Let's get back to the party," said Caleb smiling as he did up the final button. Isaiah smiled at him and they walked out of the room. Caleb shut the light off and closed the door behind him. The two of them headed back downstairs to rejoin the party.

Isaiah and Caleb had just walked passed Casey and Jonathan. Jonathan had already deduced that Sheena had gotten upset with Caleb and threw her drink at him, having seen her almost run out a few minutes earlier and now seeing him with a wet shirt. He was obviously going upstairs to change but it bothered him watching Isaiah follow him. Jonathan felt that Isaiah really didn't have any business being there and he couldn't see Caleb asking him to follow. He stared at them confused as they walked up the steps neither of them looking back. Jonathan wanted to follow them, he knew what Caleb could be like after he and Sheena would get into an argument of this stature. Although they would never really talk about it Caleb would get into a mode where he would be somewhat emotional or even sensitive. Jonathan didn't know for certain, but he thought that Isaiah would be looking to take advantage of that. It sickened him the way Isaiah would sometimes stare at Caleb when he thought no one was looking but Jonathan was almost always watching if he was in eyeshot. He could never really bring it up to Caleb simply because anytime someone tried to talk to him about Isaiah he would get almost defensive. The thought of what might happened made Jonathan sick to his stomach, he started to walk up behind them when Casey grabbed him by the arm.

"Where are you going?" she asked. Jonathan looked at Casey knowing he would have to watch what he said if he wanted anything to happen with her tonight. He hated Isaiah, but he was still horny and that would more then likely prevail at the end of the night.

"I'm just going to make sure Caleb is okay. Did you see the look on his face?" he said. Casey looked at him knowing that his friendship with Caleb was long lasting at this point, but it was by no means that kind of friendship. "What?"

"Jonathan he's fine Isaiah is going with him." Casey took Jonathan by the hands and turned him toward her even though he was still looking up stairs and Isaiah and Caleb just walked out of sight.

"That's what I'm worried about. Caleb's drunk, and whenever Sheena and him fight like that he always gets emotional." Casey put her hand on Jonathan's face and forced him to face her then kissed him. Jonathan relaxed as they kissed him suddenly forgetting what was happening. Casey pulled back briefly and smiled at him.

"Mind your own business, you have enough going on right now."

"You're right." Jonathan smiled and leaned into a deep kiss with her. After a few seconds of kissing Jonathan pulled back and smiled at her and took her by the hand. They started to walk, and he led her to the small downstairs bathroom. They stepped into the bathroom and Jonathan locked the door behind him. The bathroom was significantly simple, all it had was a mirror cupboard for pharmaceuticals and toiletries. Across from the standard stand up shower there was a storage closet for towels and face cloths. Sitting under the mirror was the bathroom sink and counter. Jonathan started to kiss Casey again and back her up against the counter. Jonathan started to undo his shirt and she finished for him and opened it up rubbing her hands against his broad chest. Jonathan knew that this was what they both wanted and made no qualms about getting started as soon as possible. He lifted her up on the counter and while still kissing her started to undo her shirt while she took his belt off. Casey pulled back from the kiss briefly and smiled at him.

"You have a condom, right?" she asked. Jonathan was breathing pretty heavily and smiled at her as he pulled his wallet out then quickly took the condom out and sat it on the counter. Casey got down off the counter as she started to undo her own pants, Jonathan lifted her shirt over her head and began to kiss her breasts. Casey dropped her pants and pulled his down the two of them were both only wearing a shirt and their under clothing. Casey grabbed Jonathan's package then ran both hands up his body. She ran her hands over his defined abdomen and on to his evenly built chest, eventually running her hands through his hair and pulling his head back to kiss his neck. Jonathan put his hands down on Casey's waist and started to lower her panties, he didn't care about any foreplay or even if Casey enjoyed herself he just wanted to get off, but she seemed to be enjoying it, so as far as he was concerned it was win win thus far.

"We can't be in here to long someone will come looking."

"Who?" asked Casey with a confused look on her face.

"Well, Mike, Chris… Andrew," Jonathan paused. "Come on you know you want this." Jonathan made a gesture grabbing himself then took her hand and placed it on his fully excited piece. Casey smiled at him and pulled him into her she hopped up on the counter as Jonathan lowered his underwear exposing himself. He grabbed the condom package off the counter and tore it open with his teeth and pulled the latex, yellow coloured condom from its package. He awkwardly stopped what he was doing to slide the condom onto his member, he smiled at her then spit in his hand and rubbed it on himself. "Are you ready?" Casey nodded at him in acknowledgement and Jonathan took a step forward. Casey braced herself on him as he pushed himself into her with his head down. Jonathan stayed still for a minute and looked up at her, they kissed for a few long seconds before he started to grind into her. Sex was one of the few things that gave Jonathan pleasure in life, so he took it from whatever girl was willing to give it to him. The other things he enjoyed alcohol and whatever kinda drug he could get his hands on, these both being simple things to acquire because his mother worked all the time and his step father was often out to some kind of bar. Anything to get his mind out of his family's reality was welcome since it had gotten so bad recently when his brother, Luke, moved to Vancouver to go to University. Casey grabbed Jonathan by the neck and pulled him into her she could see the strain in his facial features as he was getting ready to reach climax. The sweat ran down his face passed his dilated blue eyes that were staring at her intently. "Almost there," he whispered. The two of them started kissing as Jonathan continued to thrust himself upon her. Casey gripped his shoulders with both of her hands dragging her nails down his back as he gave one last violent thrust into her as he climaxed letting out a series of quiet grunts and moans. Exhausted Jonathan pulled back and leaned against the wall with sweat dripping down his chest. He stood still for a second looking at Casey who got down from the countertop and pulled up her pants. "Awe man, that's probably the best quickie I ever had." Jonathan pulled the condom off himself and dropped it in the toilet quickly flushing the evidence of anything they did.

"Shut up and pull your pants up," said Casey doing up her pants and putting her shirt back to the way it was. Jonathan laughed to himself at her irritation as he pulled up his pants and buttoned them then fastened his belt. Jonathan wiped his chest off with the hand towel then put it back and started to do up his shirt. "Where are you going after the party?" Casey looked at him in the mirror as she fixed her hair that was slightly askew from their encounter.

"Depends on how drunk I get but I'll probably just stay here for the night," said Jonathan as he fixed the collar on his shirt then put his hair back to the style he had it in. "You wanna stay with me? This doesn't have to be over for the night." Jonathan watched as Casey smirked at him then took one last look in the mirror.

"We'll see." Jonathan new full well she would but she seemed to think she could play with him, so he just nodded at her and walked out of the bathroom ahead of her. Casey took one last quick look in the mirror and then walked out of the bathroom. She could see Isaiah standing with Caleb, Mike and Chris among others, so she walked over to him and looped her arm through his. He looked at her; she smiled at him and silently urged him to come for a walk with her. He smiled at Caleb who was talking to the other guys and walked off with Casey they walked outside and sat on the small step leading to the front of the house. By now the moon was high in the sky and everyone at the party had migrated to either the pool deck or were inside. The sound of crickets chirping, music quietly playing and a quiet hum from the voices inside were all that could be heard from where they sat. "So why did he ask you to go up there with him?" Casey looked at Isaiah with an expectant smile on her face.

"I don't know to be honest, it was really random," said Isaiah not sure what Casey was expecting, "I asked but I think he avoided the question."

"So, did she actually throw her drink at him or just on him?"

"She threw the entire glass at him. I can't believe she would do that to someone she supposedly loves." Isaiah shrugged his shoulders. Casey looked at Isaiah almost scared to tell him she'd probably be staying the night and he would have to get another way home or another place to stay. She wasn't going to try and drive, she expected to be a fully drunken mess by the end of the night.

"You know she doesn't love him she just loves the idea of what people see when she's with him." Isaiah looked at Casey with a confused look on his face she knew that he wasn't believing this was the reason for her bringing him out here. "Sorry," she laughed slightly, "I'm not going home tonight that's why I brought you out here." Isaiah stared at Casey for a few seconds.

"Well yeah I figured that much." Isaiah sat and looked around for a few long seconds. "Maybe I'll walk home it's not that far."

"Are you crazy? It's far at night," Casey paused not sure if he was upset or not, "you're not mad at me are you?" Isaiah had a bit of surprise in his face when he cocked his head to the side to look at her.

"Why would I be? It's a party Casey we're supposed to have fun, I'm a big boy I can take care of myself," he laughed. Casey laughed and looked around. Isaiah leaned back resting his weight on his hands behind him and stared straight ahead. "So I saw Jonathan come out of the bathroom ahead of you. What did you guys do?" Casey looked at Isaiah completely caught off guard, she didn't think anyone saw them come out of the bathroom.

"Just a quickie, that's all," she said in a giddy tone. Isaiah looked at her almost disgusted but seemingly trying to hide it.

"Casey how can you bring yourself down like that?" Isaiah's disgust began to show through quickly as he spoke. "I know we've been through this but come on."

"Isaiah I'm not a little kid and you're right we have been through this so why did you even ask. I'm pretty sure it was obvious." Casey paused, and Isaiah looked at her and then looked around. "So, are you at least having a good time tonight?" Casey's obvious attempt to change the subject didn't go unnoticed but it also went unchallenged.

"Yeah, I'm actually getting to spend a lot of time with Caleb, surprisingly." Isaiah leaned forward and rested his arms on his knee. "I don't know why but he seems like he's really trying to get to know me tonight."

"Maybe tonight's the night," said Casey flashing a wide grin at him.

"No way. That'll never happen."

"Well him and Sheena have been fighting more and more lately maybe he's looking for a way out." Isaiah just looked down at the ground and shook his head.

Caleb stood talking to Chris, Mike and Andrew as Isaiah walked away and Jonathan took his place. He didn't really understand why but he wanted to be close to Isaiah right now. As Isaiah watched him walk away he watched him walk out the door a few minutes ago as one of the others were talking about something random. He sat in wait as the others talked to one another for one of them to bring up the fight he and Sheena had. He knew their pattern one of them was just waiting for an opening, he didn't want to give it to them. Caleb had heard and talked enough about her for the night. Caleb seemed to be spacing out he clearly wasn't paying attention to the conversation at hand, he stared at the ground with his drink in his hand randomly taking a sip from time to time.

"Caleb?" said Chris. Caleb looked up caught off guard, someone had asked him a question, but he didn't know who or what the question was.

"Sorry guys I spaced," said Caleb shaking his head, "what were we talking about?" As Caleb spoke the last word of his sentence he realised that he had unintentionally given them their window of opportunity. He waited to see which one of them would bring it up first, usually it was Jonathan, but he seemed distracted in himself for whatever reason.

"Man, that bitch has you so fucked up," said Andrew. "She throws a glass of whatever cheap whine she was drinking at you and now she's gone and you're still the one sitting here like you did something wrong."

"Nah man it's not even like that." Caleb shook his head. "I was just thinking about stuff, just trying to enjoy what's left of my buzz. That stuff she threw at me was cold," he laughed trying to steer them away from the topic. The three of them that were paying attention just looked at him, his strategy clearly not working.

"Come on, all the times you guys have fought that's gotta be the worst hide you have ever played," laughed Chris.

"Caleb you've got to leave her, there's just no way around it. Your guy's relationship is completely toxic the longer you're with her the worse off it gets," said Michael. Of the four of them that complained about his relationship with Sheena, Caleb respected Michael the most. He said the same thing that the other said but he just had a better way with words then they did so it was almost easier to take.

"Guy's I've told you all a hundred times, I know this, but I just," Caleb paused, "I just feel trapped sometimes. I want to break it off with her but she's just so god damn crazy I know that when I do she's going to flip." The other guys all laughed, this was why Caleb usually didn't try to get to deep with them, he looked at his drink realizing it was probably the alcohol that let him open up like that to them.

"You got that right," laughed Chris, "Just make her leave you, do something so extreme that she'll hate you instantly and leave you for it."

"Yeah then once the claws are out just keep running," added Jonathan getting back into the conversation once he realised the topic. Caleb would often get frustrated with them for this type of behaviour, for continuing to make light of a serious situation for which he was directly involved in. Whenever they had something serious happen in their personal life he made sure he was there for them, it was expected of him as the team captain. When Jonathan's brother left for Vancouver because his family life was so bad, Jonathan came to him a complete wreck. Mike and Andrew had at one time or another come to him with several menial problems that didn't seem to be a big issue to him but he listened all the same. Chris was the only one of the group that hadn't come to him before for any type of help, but only because he believed he was better then everyone else and would never let anyone else think he was anything but perfect. Caleb's frustration was showing in his facial features he was sure of it he was all but ready to walk away when Casey walked up behind Jonathan, he looked around and Isaiah had walked up beside him, he had been to occupied with his own thoughts to realise it. Isaiah smiled at Caleb as he looked at him and Caleb's frustration seemed to leave him temporarily.

"What's up guys?" he asked.

"Oh, these guys are just telling me how I need to leave Sheena," laughed Caleb, "you know the usual." Caleb took the last drink of his beer and sat the bottle on a nearby table. "What do you think I should do Isaiah?" The others stared at the two of them obviously feeling weird about Isaiah even being brought into the conversation. Caleb watched as Isaiah looked around at the circle then looked up at him.

"I don't know to be honest, what do you think you should do that's what really matters right?" asked Isaiah timidly.

"Fuck that he needs to leave her ass, no if ands or buts about it," said Andrew obnoxiously. Caleb glared at him showing his disproval, knowing that if someone else had said it Andrew's reaction wouldn't have been so obnoxious. Isaiah's opinion was refreshing, Caleb wasn't used to anyone leaving it up to him like that nor was he used to someone caring what he thought. Caleb smiled at Isaiah and smiled at him.

"Thanks for the input man, it's nice to get an educated opinion once in awhile," he said gesturing his beer at the others. Isaiah let out a small laugh, Caleb laughed with him as the others just stared awkwardly drinking from their drinks and looking at the floor. Casey and Isaiah smiled at each other.

A couple hours had passed since Sheena had left and it was now close to one in the morning. Caleb had gone to the bathroom; rather distraught the guys tonight just wouldn't let up about him leaving Sheena and now they were so drunk they were practically incoherent. His buzz had long left him and now his drinking just made him more depressed, feeling that he should have stopped when Sheena left he stared in the mirror in the bathroom sink. Caleb bent down and rinsed his face off with icy water. He couldn't help but to think of where his life was right now and the only thing he didn't like was Sheena, but the others were right unless he did something extreme she wouldn't let him go. He really didn't know what he was going to do. Caleb dried his face off and walked out into the hall. There were a couple people waiting to get into the bathroom, he smiled at them as he passed them still keeping up his image and went downstairs. Casey and Jonathan were making out heavily on the couch and Isaiah sat in the loveseat across from them, looking uncomfortable. Casey and Jonathan had been drinking heavily in the last two hours and were both extremely drunk as well at this point. Caleb knew they weren't going anywhere tonight and was waiting or Jonathan to ask him if he could use the guest room. Not that he minded them using it, but there had been times in the past where Caleb had gone in a day later and found a pile of puke in one of the corners or on the bed. Caleb walked over to the love seat Isaiah had been sitting in the middle but moved over as Caleb approached. Isaiah smiled as Caleb sat down but his smile faded quickly, able to tell that something was bothering him.

"Come on, baby. Let's go upstairs," slurred Jonathan, "Caleb, we're using the guest room. I'm too drunk to go home." Jonathan stood up slowly and helped Casey stand up.

"Yeah man, I don't care. Just don't puke in there this time…" Caleb paused for a few seconds, "… please."

"I won't buddy, I promise." Jonathan and Casey stagger upstairs supporting each other and clumsily taking each step slowly. Casey flashed a smile at Isaiah as they staggered out of site up the steps. Isaiah let out a small sigh in frustration.

"Well, I guess there goes my plan!" Isaiah leaned back and looked over at Caleb who was already looking at him with a questioning look on his face.

"What was that?"

"I was, uh, gonna stay with Casey tonight, but I guess not."

"Oh that. No worries. You can stay here. I'll drive you home tomorrow." Caleb watched Isaiah's features almost light up as he spoke, thinking that he was probably just thankful he wouldn't have to walk home.

"Are you sure? Thanks, dude. I don't wanna be any trouble," said Isaiah looking down at his drink. Caleb looked at the drink Isaiah had in his hand and was pretty sure it was the same one he had gotten out of the fridge at the first of the night.

"Bah, no worries. It's not like I have to worry about gas money. Just look around." Caleb paused for a moment and glanced around. There were several people passed out around the room, none of them he knew. Chris, Mike and Andrew were sloshed, and each had some random girl hanging off of them. The music playing was something he wasn't familiar with all he could tell was that it was hip hop by the beat and the lyrics, it was playing quietly, the remote to stop it was sitting on the table in front of him. He made up his mind that it was time to stop this he wanted to some peace and quiet for the rest of the night, he wanted to sleep. "Man, I think its time for this thing to end. I'm not in the mood to deal with this many people right now." Caleb stood up and put a smile on his face as he picked up the remote, he pointed the remote toward the sound system and switched off the music. Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and looked at him, most of them had a look on their face where they seemed to know what was going to happen. Caleb put his hands up and shrugged his shoulders. "Alright, guys. Been great, we all had fun, but I'm tired and I trust y'all on the field but, quite frankly, not in my house without me watching. Party's over!" Caleb dropped his hands to his side and put the remote back on the table.

"Awe, man," said Mike disappointed.

"That sucks," said Andrew as he turned his attention to Caleb. Chris walked over to the two of them with a girl hanging off of him and took the last drink of the can of beer he was holding.

"No worries, guys. Party's not over, we're heading to my house," Chris called out, "Just grab your liquor and let's move out." The people that were left started to file in the kitchen to get their alcohol. Caleb had to wake up the rest of the people he didn't want anyone left in the house that he didn't know when he finally got to sleep. He leaned into Isaiah, so he could hear him over the sound of people getting ready to leave.

"Man, can you help me wake up the people that are passed out?" he asked. Isaiah nodded and stood up to help him. Caleb walked over to a boy who was passed out of the ground behind the couch and nudged him with his foot, the person opened his eyes and sat up confused at the commotion that now went on around him. "Hey man, party's over. Time to go." The person rubbed his eyes and stood up quickly.

"Awe man, really sorry, Caleb," he said sounding tired. The person stood up and headed out the door. Isaiah walked over to a person who had passed out on the step and bent down to tap him on the face.

"Hey, Caleb says the party's over," he said quietly trying not to startle the person too much, "We have to take off." Isaiah rested his hand on the person's head and shook him lightly, he looked up at him not saying anything but giving him a strange look then got up and left. Caleb walked over to a girl that had passed out against the door and bent down. He had a bit of worry whenever a girl had passed out at the parties knowing what most teenage boys were like, particularly Jonathan. He tapped her shoulder and she opened her eyes and smiled at him, he recognized the girl from the kitchen as she opened her eyes.

"It's time to go everyone is going to Chris's house if you're going to keep partying otherwise gotta leave," said Caleb. The girl smiled and reached up and touched his face.

"Can't I just stay here with you," she asked. Flattered, Caleb smiled back at her but shook his head no.

"You know I can't," he whispered. She put her finger on his lips and nodded.

"I know… Sheena." The girl stood up and braced herself on Caleb's shoulder then, cradling her forehead, walked out the door. Caleb walked upstairs to make sure no one was in the bathroom or hall way, he didn't think he would have to worry about his bedroom, so he didn't bother. He walked into the bathroom there were two people, a guy with his head hanging over the toilet and a girl kneeled beside him rubbing his back.

"Is he okay?" he asked.

"Yeah he just had a little bit too much, and he mixed," the girl explained.

"Okay well the party's over when he's done you guys should head out everyone is going to Chris's if you're planning on still partying," said Caleb, "Otherwise you ain't gotta go home, you know the rest." The girl smiled at him fully understanding what he meant.

"No problem we'll clear out." The guy took his head out of the toilet and wiped his mouth, he braced himself on the toilet and stood up. Caleb watched as he flushed the toilet and went to the sink and rinsed out his mouth. The two of them walked passed Caleb and headed downstairs. Caleb followed them and could see Isaiah leading one more person out of the house. Isaiah walked over to him and smiled.

"Did you check the bathroom?" asked Caleb.

"Yeah no one was in there." Caleb walked to the kitchen he passed a few faces as he went in and mostly everyone had cleared out. He checked the fridge; all of the alcohol had been taken. He walked out onto the pool deck from the sliding door in the kitchen that had been carelessly left open. No one was around to be seen on the back part of the property. He walked down off the deck and walked around the outside of the house seeing as he headed toward the house that several cars were still pulling out. He had hoped that there had been enough designated drivers but doubted the thought afterwards. He walked back in the house through the main door passing the last of the people exiting the house. Isaiah was sitting on the couch as he walked in he stood up and walked over to Caleb. "That's everyone." Caleb smiled at him feeling a weight lifted from his shoulders. It appeared that just as quick as the event had begun it was over.

"Man, you wanna get some air or something? I'm going to open the doors for a half hour or so and let the air out." The air in the house smelled strong of alcohol, cheap perfume and cologne, and sweat and it was making Caleb slightly sick to his stomach.

"Okay. Yeah, sure." Isaiah could see that Caleb wasn't feeling the best the stress from the situation with Sheena had been showing in his face all night. They walked into the kitchen, Caleb propped the door open with a chair to let the air flow through. They walked out onto the deck overlooking the pool and Caleb put the screen door across. The two of them walked over to the railing overlooking the backyard. Caleb looked at Isaiah the slight wind that blew was causing the tips of his hair, that wasn't held by the gel, to move quickly. The once warm night air was now cooled slightly to the point where it was still comfortable and quite refreshing. "So, are you okay?" asked Isaiah.

"What?"

"It's obvious that this whole thing is bothering you Caleb." Isaiah turned to face the house and leaned back resting his shoulders on the railing. Caleb could feel that he was about to lose the plug that he had on his emotions all night and felt bad that Isaiah was the person who would get the brunt of it.

"Man, I just don't know what to do about her anymore. Everything I do just seems to piss her off," he explained, "I can hardly even say a word and she's jumping down my throat." Isaiah stared at Caleb with a compassionate look on his face clearly sympathizing with him.

"I don't know what to tell you, dude. I know the other guys are always after you to leave her and all that, so I'm not going to tell you that. But, in the end, you've gotta do what you've gotta do to keep you happy. If you're not happy, then it's not worth it, right?" Everything Isaiah said was analyzing their whole situation and hitting his feelings right on the head.

"Yeah, that really gets annoying. Like I don't know that she's difficult. I know she loves me but…" Caleb drifted off mid sentence not sure of what he was about to say. He looked away then looked back at Isaiah hesitating to finish the thought.

"… Do you love her?" Isaiah asked looking him in the eye asking what he knew Caleb was hesitating to say.

"Of course, I do." Caleb looked away and the doubt was shining through in his voice like the sound of a fluorescent light in a quiet room. Isaiah looked at him obviously able to hear it.

"I can hear the doubt in your voice when you say that. You need to be sure after three years." Isaiah was right, and he wasn't sure anymore.

"Well, I know I did when we first started, but you're right. Lately, it's really hard to tell sometimes." Caleb shook his head as he spoke. "Sometimes, I think she just wants me for sex and money." Isaiah let out a sigh and looked away clearly uncomfortable. "Oh, sorry. I guess I got too comfortable. I'm not sure if it's the alcohol making me like this or if it's just the fact that I can talk to you." Caleb rested his hands on the railing and leaned forward in a stretch looking down at the boards of the deck. The ten beer he had managed to down through out the night were making themselves known now. "Man, I'm so drunk. I shoulda stopped when she left. Felt good at the time, though." Isaiah's uncomfortable feeling seemed to quickly fade as he changed position leaned forward on the railing again and looking to his side at Caleb.

"Well, either way dude, I'm always open for a chat for the most part."

"I don't see why we never really talked before." Caleb took the same position as Isaiah supporting himself on his elbows and hanging his hands over the pool.

"Well, you're the popular "Captain of the football team" and I'm the guy people call "fag". The high school hierarchy won't really let us be friends, right?" Caleb didn't like hearing that something so stupid was not "letting" them be friends.

"Hey man, we're friends, and I hate hearing people call you that. It's gotta hurt." Caleb's emotions had finally come to an ugly head and he couldn't contain it any longer as he forced his smile and held back tears at the same time. Isaiah smiled at him, he was trying to hold back the excitement that Caleb considered him to be a friend until he saw the look of desperation in Caleb's face.

"Whoa, are you okay?" he asked standing up straight.

"I don't know anymore, man. This whole Sheena thing…" Caleb trailed off.

"Caleb, don't worry about it. I'm sure she loves you. People only get mad cuz they care, right?" Isaiah took a single step closer wanting to reach out and touch him as the he almost could feel Caleb's emotions flowing through him.

"I guess." Caleb looked down at the pool Isaiah noticed tears falling from his face.

"Man, you need a hug or something," Isaiah laughed nervously almost wanting to kick himself for making light of the situation. Caleb nodded at him but didn't say anything, Isaiah was slightly caught off guard not really expecting any type of an answer. "Okay." As Caleb stood up from his position he could feel the tears flowing from his eyes as he lost control of his emotions in full. Isaiah opened his arms to him, they embraced, and Caleb buried his face in Isaiah's shoulder. Isaiah's touch brought Caleb so much comfort as he cried into his shoulder, it had been so long since anyone had really hugged him. Caleb felt Isaiah's hands rubbing his back but still holding him tightly. Caleb moved his hands along Isaiah's back as he breathed in deeply, inhaling part of him. Everything just seemed to feel so right this way, it was all pointing Caleb in the same direction.

"Thanks," Caleb whispered quietly. Isaiah stood with his arms around Caleb, it was all like some dream was slowly coming true, though he couldn't help but feel he had taken advantage of an unpleasant situation. Isaiah rested his cheek against Caleb's head, he breathed in deeply the smell of Caleb's shampoo and cologne filled Isaiah's nose. The warmth of his body against him made him feel so happy he almost wanted to cry. He tried his best not to read too far into it, but even if this was all that happened tonight Isaiah could go home the next day and feel happy for helping Caleb through such a challenging time. Also knowing that Caleb considered him someone he could talk to made him happy beyond what words could explain.

"Hey man, it's okay, really. Everything'll be fine. You'll see that it all happens exactly the way it should." This was something that Isaiah had made himself believe when serious stuff happened, it had to of been meant to happen that way because he was still alive and stronger because of what had happened. He could feel Caleb's body jolting as he cried and warm wet feeling from his tears had sunk through his shirt. Isaiah continued to rub his back as he cried.

Jonathan sat up on the corner of the bed naked Casey laid in the bed next to him and smiled at him resting her head on the pillow.

"Will you go get me a glass of water?" she asked.

"Yeah I need one too. I'll be right back." Jonathan stood up to leave walking over to the door.

"Don't forget to put your boxers on idiot," Casey laughed.

"Oh, shit yeah." Jonathan scurried and grabbed his boxers off the floor. "Thanks," he said as he put them on. Jonathan stood up again and quickly walked out of the room closing the door behind him. The house was dark and completely quiet, Jonathan walked down the hall slowly trying to be quiet and on to the steps. He walked down trying to avoid making any noise as he got downstairs and realised that the door was open. Confused as to why Caleb would leave the door open and go to bed he walked over and shut the door making sure to lock it as well. He walked into the kitchen and moved the chair holding the door open wondering to himself if Caleb was trying to freeze out the last of the people at the party. He grabbed to glasses off the counter and filled them from the kitchen tap. As he turned to go back upstairs he saw Caleb and Isaiah outside on the deck locked in what looked to be a pretty passionate embrace. "Oh shit. Can't be what it looks like." At this point Jonathan was far to tired to even try to care so he shrugged it off and headed back to the guest room.

Isaiah was enthralled in their embrace and didn't notice Jonathan until he had turned to leave, he nervously pulled out of the embrace, Caleb stood staring at him and wiped his eyes on his shirt.

"Sorry, I get like this once in a while when I drink. It's getting late, though. We should hit the sack and try to sleep away some of this drunk." Isaiah nodded agreeing that it was late, he rarely stayed up passed twelve a.m. even on weekends, there wasn't much for him to do when he was at home, even with Casey the two of them didn't stay up all the late. Caleb headed back into the house and Isaiah followed him closely behind. They walked through the kitchen door that Jonathan had moved the chair from and into the living room. Isaiah walked around and sat down on the couch assuming that it would be his bed for the night. Caleb stopped and looked at him from the foot of the stairs. "What are you doing?" he asked. Isaiah looked back at him confused.

"Oh, I thought that…"

"… I'm not gonna make you sleep on the couch, man. Come on." Caleb started up the stairs. Isaiah still sat on the couch still confused and not sure how to take what was happening. Caleb stopped in the middle of the stairs and looked back at him.

"Come on." Caleb almost had a bit of frustration coming through in his voice, not wanting to change the mood of the current events of the evening, Isaiah shook his head and let out a breath then followed Caleb up the steps to the hallway.

"Okay. Where am I going to sleep?" he asked.

"You can have my bed. I'll sleep on the floor." The two of them walked down the hallway and into Caleb's bedroom. The room is dark but Isaiah can hear something moving in the bed. Caleb flipped the light switch and as the lights came on they could see a couple having sex in Caleb's bed.

"Oh shit," said the guy.

"Man, are you fucking kidding me?!" Caleb thought that he was pretty clear about the rules of his party he didn't really have many, he didn't care what went on but whatever did happen didn't happen in his bedroom. "Get the fuck out of my bed, you god damn dirt bags." The guy jumped out of the bed completely naked and struggled to put his clothes on.

"Man, I'm sorry Caleb. I didn't know this was your bedroom." The person quickly pulled up his pants and pulled his shirt on over his head. The girl had jumped out and quickly gotten dressed.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." The girl grabbed her undergarments off the floor after pulling her shirt on and skirt up.

"Don't feed me that bullshit. Just get out!" Caleb slammed his fist against the wall and the couple hurry out. Isaiah could hear the two of them scurrying down the steps and out the door. Caleb looked at him with a bit of disbelief. "Can you believe that?"

"No man, that's pretty crazy."

"Man, I'm so mad," Caleb looked away thinking that the situation was still pretty funny, "Can't friggen believe it." Caleb looked back at Isaiah with a smile on his face ready to laugh. "It is pretty damn funny, though. I was going to say you may want to change the sheets but now we have to." Caleb quickly ripped the sheets from the bed and threw them in the corner. He went into his closet and took out some clean sheets and a blanket. "We can just throw these on real quick." Caleb quickly and sloppily redressed the bed with the new sheets.

"Caleb, I don't feel right taking your bed," said Isaiah being completely honest. "You worked harder out there then I did today."

"Well I'm not going to let you sleep on the floor or the couch." Caleb tucked in the last corner of the bed sheets. "You're a guest in my house; it's pretty important to me." Caleb finished making the bed and grabbed a thick comforter from the closet and the other pillow off the bed. Isaiah watched as he sat down on the floor beside the end table. "Hit the big light will ya?"

"Okay." Isaiah flipped the light switch turning off the over head light just as Caleb turned on the table lamp. Isaiah stepped over Caleb and walked around to the opposite side of the bed and sat down. "Alright then, I guess there's no point in arguing. Well good night, Caleb." Isaiah took off his sneakers and put them on the floor next to the bed, he pulled down the covers and laid down fully clothed.

"Night." Caleb shut the table lamp off and Isaiah watched the alarm clock on the end table. He laid there in the big bed by himself reflecting on what had happened throughout the evening truly glad that he had come to the party. The silence and darkness was making him tired but he could hear Caleb's breathing as well as every move he made. The bed was so soft he felt like he was resting on a cloud. He looked up at the clock again and two minutes had passed. Caleb laid on the floor tossing and turning he really didn't want to sleep on the floor now that he was actually down here. The last time he slept on the floor was when he was only eight years old after having a nightmare, he had gone into his uncle Caesar's room. He was shy at that age, so he wouldn't sleep in the bed but just being in the room with Caesar made him feel secure. Caleb let out a sigh and sat up on the floor he looked over at the clock and only five minutes had passed. He slowly stood up and laid down on the bed, trying not to disturb Isaiah. "The floor's not as comfortable as I remember."

"Do you want me to go downstairs?" Isaiah sat up on one arm and looked back at him. Isaiah still wasn't sure about how the evening had been going everything just seemed to good to be true, he wasn't sure if he fully trusted the situation as much as he wanted to.

"No, unless you don't want to sleep in the same bed with me. I mean, come on! We shower in the same shower after games," Caleb laughed quietly.

"Yeah, no problem. I'll talk to you in the morning." Isaiah laid his head back down on the pillow and closed his eyes to try and sleep. Isaiah was so nervous he was pretty sure he wasn't going to be able to sleep for most of the night, he could feel Caleb's breath on the back of his neck and couldn't help but think how much further this dream was about to go.

As Isaiah laid back down Caleb laid there on his back looking at him, he wasn't sure what he was doing and could only imagine the rumours that were going to start to float around or what Jonathan must of thought about the situation. Since the doors were all shut when they went to bed he had assumed that Jonathan had been up and around at some point when he and Isaiah were talking out on the deck. Caleb didn't really care either way he felt that if people really liked him like they all said they did he wouldn't have any problem with anyone. Caleb could smell Isaiah's cologne from where he was laying, the scent was unfamiliar, it definitely wasn't the cheap kind of cologne most guys their age wore, it was almost intoxicating. Caleb rested his hands on his stomach he decided to stay fully clothed since he noticed that Isaiah had done the same and it was uncomfortable for him, he never slept in anything, but his underwear be it boxers or briefs. Caleb shifted to his side and rested his hands under the pillow resisting the urge to put his arms around Isaiah. He still was unsure of how Isaiah would react to him, but he was still comforted just by his being there.

Isaiah laid still in the bed not able to get to sleep as he predicted he stared at the clock as the minutes slowly ticked by. Only three minutes had passed since Caleb got into the bed when Isaiah felt him shift toward him. Isaiah laid there wishing for Caleb to reach out and put his arm around him and mean it. There was still the possibility of all of this being brought on by the alcohol.


	3. Chapter 3: Four AM

Isaiah had been sleeping for about two hours when he was jolted awake by an elbow in the back. Caleb must have been having some kind of dream as he was talking in his sleep, Isaiah couldn't really hear much of what he was saying as some of it was coming out as gibberish and other words were too badly slurred to make out. Isaiah stayed still in the position he had first laid down in on his side, he could feel Caleb shifting violently and almost wondered if he should wake him up. Isaiah looked at the clock that was showing in big red letters that it was now four 'o'clock in the morning, it frustrated him because he had just managed to drift off to sleep and now he was right back to square one. Isaiah closed his eyes and tried to get back to sleep.

"… weren't you there, Mom!" said Caleb. Isaiah listened to Caleb as he spoke, he knew that Caleb didn't have a great relationship with his parents and he sounded mad. Caleb spoke a few more words that Isaiah could only make out as several irritated mumbles. "Sheena why, this to me." The expression in Caleb's voice went from angry to distressed. Isaiah hadn't realised before this how much pain Sheena had caused to Caleb over the years and it was hard not to want to reach out to comfort him. Caleb started to shift again this time not as violent and Isaiah could feel him rolling toward him. Caleb put his arm around Isaiah under the blanket startled Isaiah opened his eyes. "Love you," said Caleb. As the words left Caleb's lips he could feel what had to have been his heart melting. Isaiah had only imagined what it must have been like to hear Caleb utter these very words and now as he said it he was sleeping, it was hard for Isaiah to hear it. His eyes welled up with tears at the thought of Caleb saying it and meaning it, but he didn't want to let this go on any longer. He turned his head to look at Caleb over his shoulder he couldn't really see much through the darkness.

"Caleb?" Caleb murmured contentedly at the sound of his voice he was apparently a heavy sleeper. "Caleb, are you awake?" he asked. Caleb didn't respond vocally but slid in as close as he could get to him and took Isaiah's hand in his. Isaiah was getting nervous he could feel his own heart racing, the warm of Caleb's body excited him. "Caleb, wake up, bud." Isaiah fumbled nervously over his own words. Isaiah nudged Caleb slightly in an attempt to wake him. Shifting his arm Caleb moved Isaiah's hand under the blanket and put it on himself.

"Why didn't you say something then?" asked Caleb seductively, still clearly asleep. Isaiah pulled his hand away quickly suddenly having a rush of fear come over him. What if this was just some kind of elaborate trick to out him, what if Caleb suddenly awoke and thought that Isaiah was trying to take advantage of the fact that he was drunk. This scenario had the potential to get extremely ugly, extremely fast and Isaiah was trying his best to avoid it. He didn't want their friendship to end just as it began.

"Caleb, wake up," Isaiah spoke louder and clearer then before, but Caleb still did not wake up. Caleb brought his arm up around Isaiah's chest and started to kiss the back of his neck. The sensation of Caleb's breath on the back of his neck caused the hair on his neck to stand up and the touch of his lips sent chills down his spine. This was something that Isaiah never imagined would ever happen between them, it was all so perfect. Caleb had held Isaiah's heart for so long and didn't even realise it, Isaiah felt any care he had for what might happen slip away and turned around to face Caleb. He realised looking at Caleb that he was indeed asleep. Isaiah slowly raised his hand up and touched Caleb's face, his skin was soft to touch it was obvious that he had shaved before the party. He rested his hand on Caleb's cheekbone and stroked his cheek with his thumb. "This is so wrong, but…" Caleb kissed him, and a tear ran down Isaiah's cheek. Caleb's full lips were like warm silk as they touched Isaiah's lips. Even though Isaiah was sure Caleb thought he was kissing someone else this was his first real kiss, his dream had come true.

"Don't be scared," Caleb whispered pulling back slightly. Caleb raised his hand and placed a semi-sweaty palm on Isaiah's face, Caleb pulled Isaiah in closer to him, their lips barely touching Caleb delicately licked Isaiah's top lip before pulling him into another full kiss.

"I can't Caleb," Isaiah pulled back from the kiss. He couldn't help it this was a dream come true for him, but he knew it wasn't what Caleb wanted and he could feel the guilt starting to well up inside of him like an overflowing bucket of water. Caleb again pulled him into a kiss one last time. Isaiah didn't want to pull away it was taking every fibre of his being to do what he was about to do, and he hated it, but he knew he had to do it, he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he jeopardized this relationship anymore. "I can't!" Isaiah sat up quickly and pushed Caleb away from him, Caleb rolled over but still didn't wake up. Isaiah flicked on the table lamp and looked at Caleb, he laid there, his pants were undone, and he was half covered under the blanket. He looked so peaceful, Isaiah didn't feel comfortable sleeping next to him anymore and had to wake him up. "Caleb, Caleb, wake up!" This time Isaiah pushed sternly on his shoulder, Caleb turned around and propped himself up on his elbows and looked at Isaiah with tired but fully opened eyes.

"Isaiah what's wrong?" he asked.

"Are you awake now?" Isaiah knew he was awake but asked for his own peace of mind. Caleb was clearly confused at the question to him the answer was obviously clear.

"What do you mean?" he asked confused.

"Well, you were talking in your sleep and you woke me up." Isaiah decided to keep most of the details to himself. "Kinda scared me."

"Yeah man, I'm sorry." Caleb had a truly apologetic tone in his voice as he sat up and rubbed the back of his head. "I shoulda told you, I guess. What was I talking about?" Isaiah didn't really want to go into too much detail, but he thought maybe he should let him know some of what had happened just to make sure Caleb knew he felt guilty about what happened.

"You started talking to your mom, then Sheena…" Isaiah trailed off still debating what he should tell him.

"Anything else? Why is your face so flushed? You okay?" Isaiah hadn't even thought about what the experience must have done to him, but he was scared so his skin probably reflected it. "There's water in the fridge downstairs if you need it. Help yourself."

"Yeah maybe I should." Isaiah sat on the edge of the bed and looked back at Caleb. "You just, well…"

"Well… what?" Caleb sounded a bit impatient.

"Caleb, you kissed me." Isaiah blurted out, as the words left his mouth he was already regretting saying it. Caleb's expression was surprised just as his words were. Isaiah looked away from him not wanting to see his expression anymore, half expecting him to attack him or to become defensive.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Nothing. Nevermind. I'm guess I'm gonna go get that water now." Without looking back Isaiah stood up quickly and left the room nervously as he exited the room. As Isaiah walked out Caleb had a look of panic and confusion on his face as he pondered what had happened. He got outside of Caleb's room and leaned on the wall trying to control his emotions, he felt like he was about to have an anxiety attack. "Dammit," he muttered.

"You wanna get me a drink too? Got the pasties going on in here," Caleb called out.

"Sure." Caleb could hear Isaiah walking down the hall and eventually down the stairs. He laid back on the bed and let out a sigh in frustration, at some point when he was dreaming, his body had acted on what his mind wanted, and he ended up kissing Isaiah. It was what he had feared, he had done what he had been thinking about and the worst possible outcome had happened, Isaiah was clearly freaked out about the whole situation. Caleb wished he could take back everything, Isaiah had enough troubles with people at their school and Caleb felt horrible for adding to them. He had to explain himself to him and hoped that Isaiah would forgive him, the last thing he wanted him to think was that he was playing with him. Caleb stood up and walked to the door but then heard more footsteps thinking it was probably Jonathan he decided to wait for Isaiah to come back up. He flicked the light off to try and avoid drawing Jonathan's attention to the room.

A few minutes earlier Jonathan had just woken up from a deep sleep, already feeling the effects of the hang over he was going to have tomorrow. He was extremely thirsty for a glass of water his mouth feeling like he had been eating feathers since he went to sleep, because of the alcohol. He sat up slowly dizzy at first, he sat his feet on the ground and looked back at Casey who was fast asleep. They had been sleeping in a spooning position. Cuddling wasn't something Jonathan did very often, he didn't like to really to get to close to anyone, particularly the girls he slept with. He didn't feel as though he made a qualified boyfriend, and this was why he was single, he didn't have the time or the care to put in any effort toward a relationship, being tied down wasn't something he ever thought would be him. Casey for some reason he couldn't figure out, was different. He stood up and put on his boxers that sat on the floor by the bed and adjusted himself, he walked out of the guest room just in time to see Caleb's light shut off.

Isaiah started down the stairs slowly, the large house was dark and quiet, it was a little creepy at night. As he walked down the stairs it seemed like every other step made a bit of a creaking noise, he didn't know why but it made him nervous he didn't want to wake anyone up even though he knew the only other people in the house were Casey and Jonathan. He made it to the bottom of the staircase and looked around, the moon shone in from all the windows it was bright enough for him to see most of the room. The silhouettes of the large television and stereo was prominent, the few tables that were in the living room the moonlight illuminated and twinkled off several of the left behind bottles from the nights events. He started to walk through the living room careful not to bump into anything and made his way into the kitchen. He stepped through and the kitchen was equally illuminated by the moonlight, the counters were littered with bottles that were reflecting the moonlight in different directions leaving patterns on the walls. It would almost be an interesting sight if Isaiah hadn't been so tense. He walked in farther and over to the cupboard, opening it up he reached in and pulled out a glass. He looked out through the kitchen window at the pool, the water moving gently in the wind with the moonlight bouncing off it was somewhat calming to stare at. Isaiah looked down at the glass in his hand and suddenly remembered what he was there for. Still looking at the glass he turned and took a step toward the fridge he looked up to see where he was going, to see Jonathan standing in the doorway. Startled, Isaiah dropped the glass on the floor shattering it. The noise of the shattered glass seemed to echo through the quiet house. Isaiah let out a quiet breath in fright but quickly regained his composure trying not to show anything Jonathan could use against him.

"Jonathan! Man, don't do that! You scared the crap outta me!" Isaiah bent down and started to pick up the larger visible pieces of the glass. "Watch your feet."

"Why you so jumpy, homo? Guilty conscience?" said Jonathan copping his usual attitude. Isaiah stopped briefly what he was doing and stared for a quick second at the sparkling glass, he wasn't in the mood to deal with Jonathan's usual attitude and was amid controlling his anger. Isaiah managed to suppress the anger and go back to picking up the pieces of glass.

"Not guilty about anything. You just scared me that's all," Isaiah stood up and dropped the glass from his hand into the nearby garbage being careful all the while not to cut himself. "Do you know where there is some kind of broom?"

"There." Jonathan pointed to a small drawer on the lower cupboard. He watched as Isaiah took out the small hand brush and dust pan and started to sweep the area. "I saw you, you know." A feeling of fear started to come over Isaiah what if Jonathan had been watching them from the doorway when Isaiah had turned his back. He bent down with a scared look on his face and made every attempt to hide his fear as he looked up at him not wanting to be obvious that he was hiding something.

"What are you talking about?" Isaiah laughed briefly and nervously as he started to sweep the remainder of the glass.

"You and Caleb out on the step earlier tonight."

"Oh yeah." Isaiah felt a feeling of relief rush over him a hug was a hell of a lot easier to explain then a kiss. "He had a pretty tough night with Sheena, I guess. Seemed pretty upset." Isaiah stood up and emptied the dust pan into the garbage then stopped and looked at Jonathan, just now taking time to realise that he was in his boxers.

"Didn't make it worse, did you?"

"What are you talking about?" Isaiah's patience was running thin with Jonathan and for some reason the fear was starting to subside as well. Isaiah watched Jonathan walk over and grab a glass from the same cupboard he had just gotten one from. He seemed to be ignoring Isaiah's question. Jonathan walked over and poured himself a glass of water.

"Sound's like you guys had quite the _heart to heart_." Jonathan finally stopped and looked at him and took a sip of his water.

"Yeah, we did," said Isaiah coming off as somewhat proud. Isaiah had decided that he had enough of Jonathan for a few days and grabbed two glasses out of the cupboard and filled them from the pitcher in the fridge. "I'm going back to bed."

"Yeah." Jonathan glared at Isaiah as he walked by him to head upstairs exiting the kitchen. Jonathan took another drink off his water and contemplated for a few moments. It really bothered him that Isaiah was sleeping in the same room with Caleb almost to the point that he wanted to go upstairs and talk to Caleb about it.

Caleb sat in the bedroom he could hear footsteps coming up the stairs quickly he figured it would be Isaiah which meant it was almost time to talk to him. He leaned over and flicked the light back on and sat on the edge of the bed as he waited for Isaiah to walk through the doors. The longer he waited the more he was sure he was just going to let this drop and hopefully Isaiah wouldn't bring it up either.

Isaiah walked up the stairs and turned the corner to go to Caleb's room just in time to see the lights turn on. He wondered why he would even turn them off but decided not to occupy himself with trying to figure it out. He looked at the water in his hands that were shaking with nerves, he tried to but couldn't seem to stop it the water vibrating in the glass. Every step he took he felt his anxiety building; he stopped for a second to regain his composure and leaned against the wall taking a deep breath. Isaiah looked at the ceiling for several seconds that felt like an eternity, Isaiah exhaled as he felt his heart rate start to slow and walked into the bedroom.

"Here," said Isaiah passing Caleb his glass of water.

"Yeah, thanks." Caleb took the glass in his hand and took a sip then sat with the glass in his hands. He rested his elbows on his knees and looked down at the glass in his hands. Isaiah sat down next to him and took a drink from his glass.

"I broke a glass, by the way," Isaiah looked at him expecting some kind of reaction but not sure what kind. "Jonathan came downstairs behind me and scared the piss outta me, and I dropped it." Isaiah shook his head now feeling stupid for even bringing it up. "I cleaned it up though."

"No worries; just a glass," Caleb laughed quietly, "If that's the worst thing I have to clean up after the party, then that'll be good news."

"I suppose." Isaiah shook his head realizing how trivial a single glass was after what he saw scattered about on the tables downstairs.

"Yeah, so we should get back to bed, eh?" Caleb sat up straight and looked at him.

"That's probably a good idea." Isaiah looked over at Caleb then down at his glass, it was clear to him that Caleb was just going to forget what happened if he let him. "I think I should sleep on the floor." Isaiah stood up and stepped away from the bed.

"I thought I told you about that already." Just as Isaiah was about to get out of arms reach Caleb reached out abruptly and grabbed his hand.

"Caleb, what are you doing?" Isaiah looked at Caleb's hand holding his unsure of what was about to happen, then looked up at him. Isaiah could see an almost blank look in Caleb's eyes as if he wasn't really thinking about what he was doing. He looked like he was lost in a sea of his own emotions but wasn't sure how to display the right ones.

"I…" Caleb paused as he stared at their hands then slowly followed his gaze up Isaiah's arm to look him in the face. "I don't know." Isaiah felt Caleb tug on his hand and resisted him slightly out of fear.

"I should go home, Caleb. You're drunk." Isaiah stared for a few brief seconds as he felt Caleb's grip tightening on his hand. With quickness and ease Caleb abruptly pulled Isaiah down onto the bed.

"Don't be scared," he whispered.

"I'm not scared, Caleb." Caleb stared at Isaiah intently his head slightly turned to the side as if he was about to kiss him. Their gaze had locked, and Isaiah stared into Caleb's deep brown eyes he wasn't scared he was just nervous. He could feel his heart fluttering in his chest and he could already tell his skin had flushed.

"Well…" Caleb placed released Isaiah's hand and moved his hand up Isaiah's arm and eventually rested his hand on his neck. "I am." Caleb started to pull him into a kiss, Isaiah resisted for a split second but then released himself to Caleb's guide as their lips touched. Even though they had kissed earlier Isaiah was overcome with emotion as if Caleb's feelings were pouring into him. This was different then before it was under Caleb's control and they were both fully awake. Isaiah could feel Caleb trembling as they kissed, his entire body shook with nerves and anticipation Isaiah knew he was nervous and scared, but he could also tell how confused he was. The short kiss seemed to feel like an eternity before Isaiah pulled away, he put his hand on Caleb's face trying to make him feel more comfortable and gazed into his eyes.

"Why are you doing this?" whispered Isaiah.

"I don't know, I…" Caleb pulled back from him and looked away nervously.

"Jonathan is awake. What if we get caught?"

"I'm sorry. Just forget about it. I shouldn't have brought you into this mess. I feel like such an idiot." Caleb sat back on the bed, clearly angry at himself. Isaiah sat and looked at him for a few seconds. Caleb looked so helpless and lost he didn't want him to feel as though he didn't want this to keep going, because he did. Isaiah wanted this more then anything else he could even fathom and he had to let Caleb know.

"No, no it's okay. I don't mean it like that, Caleb. It's just… come here." Isaiah let out a sigh not able to think of the words he wanted to get across to him. He slid over to Caleb and put his arms around him, he could feel Caleb shivering in his arms. Isaiah knew the kind of confusion he was going through having gone through it himself before admitting to himself who he was. Right now, he was sure Caleb was thinking what were his friends going to think, would his parents still love him, was his life over, was he going to be as alone as he felt right now for the rest of his life? Isaiah also knew that the answer was no and that the feeling would pass as soon as Caleb surrounded himself with the people that truly loved him not the people who liked him for his ability to play the game or his money or his looks.

"Am I wrong for feeling this way?" Caleb buried his face in Isaiah's shoulder.

"It's okay. We don't have to do anything you don't want to." Isaiah rubbed the back of Caleb's head as he whispered to him reassuringly. Isaiah could feel Caleb's hand start to rub his back slowly.

"I've never done anything like this before," Caleb whispered. Isaiah pulled back and pushed Caleb to a straight sitting position as he pulled from the hug, so he could look him in the eye.

"Neither have I." Isaiah tried to sound as reassuring as he could to let Caleb know he wanted this as much as he did, but it was all just as new to him as it was Caleb. Caleb stared intently at Isaiah as he raised his hand placing it on Caleb's neck then moving it up to his face.

"I'm so scared." Caleb gazed into Isaiah's eyes his gaze not faltering as he stared.

"Don't be." Isaiah pulled Caleb gently further up onto the bed taking Isaiah's lead Caleb slowly edged himself up onto the pillow, Isaiah laid down beside him facing him. Caleb undid his shirt quickly and left it hanging open but then stopped seemingly unsure of where to go next.

"I don't know what to do," said Caleb embarrassed.

"Whatever you want." Isaiah smiled at him and rubbed the tips of his fingers down Caleb's chest and stomach. Caleb's olive skin was every bit as soft as Isaiah had imagined it would be all the times staring in the shower couldn't have prepared Isaiah for what he was feeling as his fingers moved along the ripples of Caleb's abdomen. Isaiah stopped briefly and slowly slid the tips of his fingers into Caleb's jeans and boxers, he could feel the soft hair just barely on the tips of his fingers. "How does that feel?"

"Good." Caleb rubbed the back of his hand against Isaiah's chest and stared for a long few seconds. Isaiah smiled at him when Caleb suddenly and awkwardly pulled Isaiah on top of him. Caught off guard, Isaiah braced himself on one arm and looked down at Caleb who was obviously still very nervous about his inexperience. "Sorry." Caleb reached out and touched Isaiah's face for a brief second before Isaiah leaned in and kissed him briefly. Isaiah rubbed Caleb's strong chest he then pulled back from the kiss and smiled softly at him. Isaiah rested himself on his knees but was sitting on Caleb's pelvis. Caleb's expression was intent on him as he put his hands up Isaiah's shirt slowly moving his hands from his chest to his stomach. Isaiah no longer felt the same nervousness, but he could still feel his heart rushing from excitement as Caleb gestured for him to lift off his shirt. Isaiah lifted his shirt over his head and Caleb sat rubbing his stomach with the back of his hand as they stared at each other in silence. Isaiah smiled at him.

"What?" Caleb looked at Isaiah confused probably worried that he was doing something wrong. Isaiah could see that something was on his mind. "You've got something on your mind I can tell." He rubbed his hand through Caleb's soft dark hair as Caleb took a deep breath then exhaled and looked away, Isaiah's hand fell from his hair to his face then rested on Caleb's chest. Caleb returned his attention to him shortly. Isaiah couldn't believe how perfect everything was going he was so happy that he hadn't wasted all this time on Caleb.

"It's just that…" Caleb paused and smiled but the smile faded as he began to speak again. "I think back, and you don't know how many times I was in the shower, I would imagine what it would be like to touch you like this." Isaiah felt Caleb apply a bit of pressure to his abdomen. "I remember the first day you tried out for the team. I fought with the coach to get you on board," Caleb laughed nervously as he continued, "I managed to convince him that you would be a great runner for the team, even though you were so much smaller then the rest of us. I would just look at you and you never seemed to notice so I kept looking." Caleb raised his hand and touched Isaiah's chin with his two fingers. "I loved your little dimple in your chin and just watching you move." Isaiah stared blankly in disbelief for a second as he began to connect the pieces of their puzzle. All the awkward smiles, the times Caleb had stuck up for him against the other guys on the team and even earlier in the evening when Caleb had asked him to help him pick a shirt. ******He thought back to the first time Caleb had stuck up for him, it was one of the first practises he had been to.

"God damn faggot," yelled Jonathan. The practise had just ended, and the team had gathered into the locker room except for Caleb who had gone for a meeting with the coach. Isaiah looked at Jonathan still in his work out clothing. Jonathan for some reason thought Isaiah was looking at him, there was no reason for him to look as he found no attraction to him. Jonathan's personality was more then enough to overshadow anything that might make him attractive. "Don't look at me or I'll knock your ass out!" Isaiah looked away and tried to go back to getting his pack out of his locker. He wasn't comfortable being in the locker room with the team yet and this was why. Somehow a rumour about Isaiah's sexuality had started to spread since he joined the team. He suspected that Jonathan was behind it but had no proof and no one would listen to him anyway so why bother? He opened his locker and could feel Jonathan still looking at him. There was no question in his mind Isaiah was terrified of Jonathan and knowing that the coach wasn't there to stop him he didn't know what was about to happen. Isaiah was holding his emotions in check trying not to cry in fear of what was about to happen. "Maybe I should beat your ass anyway faggot you don't belong here." Isaiah put his book bag on his back and stood still for a few seconds not wanting to turn around. Isaiah took a deep breath and turned around to leave taking a step forward with his head down. Jonathan stepped in front of him, standing face to face, so close that Isaiah could feel his breath on his face. "Where are you going? Shouldn't you shower before you go back to class, or is that too much temptation for you?" Isaiah looked up at Jonathan still managing to keep his emotions in check.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked his voice cracking slightly. Jonathan cracked a smile at him knowing that he was striking fear into someone giving him obvious satisfaction with himself. Isaiah tried to get by him taking a step to the left and then to the right. Jonathan matched his step blocking his attempts to get by. "Can you please just let me go?" Isaiah pleaded with him ready to lose control of his emotions. Jonathan stayed quiet and Isaiah looked down at his feet sure that he was about to cry. Without warning Jonathan brought his hands up and slammed Isaiah into the wall with great ease. Isaiah hit the wall and slid down having lost his breath from the impact and tried desperately to get up but couldn't as he gasped for air. Jonathan bent down and pulled Isaiah to his feet and drew back his fist as he was about to punch him. Isaiah closed his eyes ready to take the hit.

"Hey!" Isaiah heard Caleb's voice somewhere from the left and opened his eyes. Jonathan turned his head and quickly let him fall to the ground gasping. Isaiah lost control of himself no longer able to control his emotions. He lay there in the middle of his worst nightmare, practically crying his eyes out in front of the team on his first day. "Man, what the hell's going on here?" Caleb asked quickly as he rushed over and knelt by Isaiah's side. "What the hell did you do to him?" Caleb looked up at Jonathan who was just standing there watching. "You know you can't be doing this type of shit to people," explained Caleb.

"I didn't do anything he just freaked out," lied Jonathan. Caleb looked up at Jonathan obviously feeling insulted by the fact that Jonathan thought he was that stupid. "What's wrong, I was seeing if he was okay."

"Bull shit," said Caleb, "You're suspended for the next three games."

"Awe man are you kidding me!" yelled Jonathan frustrated.

"Yes, now get the hell out of here or I'm making it six games!" Caleb stood up the team had started to gather just as Isaiah started crying just a few seconds earlier. Jonathan stormed out with his duffel bag in hand and Caleb looked around at the rest of the team. All of them were either dressed to leave or still in their work out gear. "All right, all of you, get out of here for a few minutes please." Everyone stood staring. "I'm sorry was I speaking Spanish? Clear the fuck out!" Caleb stood and watched the team scurrying to get out of the locker room. He looked down at Isaiah who was still crying at his feet. After a few long seconds the team had cleared the locker room. Caleb knelt down by Isaiah and rested a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?" he asked in a gentle tone. Isaiah cried out loud not able to hold it back anymore, the sound of his crying echoing through the locker room. Caleb was awkward for a second then pulled Isaiah into a comforting hug. "Hey man it's okay, you did great today," Caleb comforted.

"But, I'm never going to hear the end of this now," Isaiah stuttered between words. Isaiah was referring to him breaking down crying in front of the team. These guys were football players, they were going to tear him apart for this.

"Don't worry I'll make sure it's never brought up again," assured Caleb. Isaiah was able to get control of his emotions and started to calm down.

"Really?"

"Yeah, it'll be fine." They sat in each others arms for a few seconds Caleb rubbed Isaiah's back and Isaiah nuzzled his head into Caleb's shoulder. They stood still for a few seconds, as Caleb must have realized what he was feeling and pulled out of the hug. They looked at each other and Caleb stood up smiling at him. "Anytime he gives you trouble let me know if I don't see it. Jonathan might be my best friend but I'm not about to let him bully a team mate." Isaiah nodded at Caleb staying silent as Caleb extended his hand. Isaiah took his hand and Caleb rubbed the top of his hand with his thumb before pulling him to his feet

"Thank you, Caleb." Isaiah smiled at him and the two of them walked out of the locker room. ******

Isaiah felt so overcome with emotion as he thought back to the events and tears filled his eyes, he had never been so happy before in his life and all he could do was cry. Caleb sat up clearly worried that he had upset him. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to…"

"No, it's okay, I…" Isaiah paused and wiped his eyes then looked back at Caleb who looked at him still with a concerned look on his face. "… you don't know Caleb, how long I've wanted to be here like this with you… to think that it would never happen, and now here I am. It's just like a dream." Caleb and Isaiah embraced clearly both of them were overcome with emotions of happiness, joy and love for one another. Caleb rested his ear to Isaiah's chest and they stayed quiet for a few seconds.

"I feel it too." Caleb inhaled deeply then exhaled. "You smell so good tonight." Caleb looked up at Isaiah and they kissed. A tear dropped from Isaiah's eye, he pulled back and it landed on Caleb's forehead.

"I'm still waiting to wake up," Isaiah sniffled still crying.

"I don't think you're going to." Caleb's nervousness had seemed to all but disappear he smiled. "Come on, don't cry."

"I'm trying not to, I promise, but I'm so happy right now," he laughed embarrassed that he couldn't stop the tears from flowing. Seeing Caleb's smile made his tears start to dry up. "Your smile is helping though." Caleb laid down on the bed and put his hand on Isaiah's face, Isaiah smiled at him and held his hand then kissed his palm. Isaiah tears had resided for now and the warmth Caleb was giving him made him feel good about himself, which was something that Isaiah didn't get very often.

"You're so hot," said Caleb.

"Yeah but I'm nothing compared to you." Isaiah could feel himself blushing hearing Caleb say it was something he thought he would only hear in his dreams.

"You have no idea." Caleb sat up and put his arm around Isaiah's waste and pulled him into him tightly. Demonstrating some of his physical strength Caleb lifted Isaiah enough to be able to shift himself on top of him and leans into a deep kiss. Isaiah rubbed his hands over Caleb's muscular back and pulled back from the kiss.

"I wish we could stay this way forever." Isaiah gazed up at Caleb who smiled back at him.

"Well I don't see why we can't try." Caleb leaned into Isaiah to kiss him when instead, Isaiah pulled him into a close hug. They laid still for a minute enjoying the heat of each others' bodies and the touch of Caleb's soft skin on his. Isaiah closed his eyes briefly and breathed Caleb in, he hadn't really taken the time to do it before. The smell of Caleb's body filled his nose, a mixture of body-wash, cologne and shampoo, of fruit, musk and what smelled like chocolate, even a prominent smell of sweat, all of which excited him.

"Do you want this to go further?" Isaiah whispered.

"I want to…" Caleb pulled back and looked at him he seemed worried about what he was going to say, Isaiah felt a slight bit of his nervousness returning. "… just not tonight. I'm still a little drunk and I want to be able to remember everything when we do go further," Caleb explained, "And I'm not saying any of this because I'm drunk, it's how I really feel. I just wanna make sure I remember everything we do." Caleb put his hand on Isaiah's face and smiled at him. "I'm not looking for one night of fun with you Isaiah." Isaiah smiled and held Caleb's hand, he felt exactly the same way, he loved Caleb and he wanted to say it but he knew it was too soon for that. But he was so happy that this wasn't going to end when the sun came up in the morning.

"I feel that way too." Caleb laid to his side and put his arms around Isaiah and held him close they lay facing each other, Isaiah wrapped Caleb in his arms and kissed him one last time. Caleb's bedroom clock now read six' o'clock, the two of them laid there and after one last smile, closed their eyes.

Caleb closed his eyes, still almost in shock at the events that had taken place over the last couple of hours. Everything had gone exactly the way he had hoped it would. Isaiah had felt for him longer then he ever suspected, Caleb could tell he meant what he said by the tears in his eyes as they talked about it. Caleb never suspected Isaiah to be one way or another he just knew that he had feelings for him and he was so happy that he finally got the nerve to act on his feelings. Caleb squeezed Isaiah into him and breathed deeply relaxing his mind, Isaiah smooth skin pressed against him like velvet. The warmth he felt from him not only warmed his body but warmed his heart as well. Caleb laid in the feeling that everything was right in his world right now, it had been a long time since he felt this way and he was going to do his best to enjoy it. Even when he and Sheena were at their happiest Caleb never felt the kind of happiness he was feeling right now. Everything seemed to fit into place, right from the way Isaiah's hand fit into his to the way that Isaiah's head now laid on his arm, it was perfect. Caleb knew there was only one thing standing in their way and that was Sheena, the rest didn't matter, Caleb didn't care what his friends thought, and he knew that now he was standing by Isaiah's side, he wouldn't care either. But he knew how nasty Sheena could truly be when she felt she was done wrong and if he didn't handle this right he knew someone would end up hurt.


	4. Chapter 4: The Day After

Casey opened her eyes as she awoke from a deep sleep. She lay still for a few minutes her head was half pounding, it was clear that she was going to be hung over for the day. She could feel Jonathan's arm around her and hear him breathing heavily almost snoring. She looked at the small end table clock that read nine thirty in the morning in bright green letters that were almost painful to look at. Casey slowly pushed herself up to an upright position holding the blanket up with her other arm. Her hair that she had neatly done the night before now seemed as though it was all over the place. She was naked her clothing lay on the floor in front of her, she knew that her and Jonathan had had sex but she couldn't remember most of the events that took place at the party she certainly didn't remember getting up into this room. She put her hand on her head as it throbbed and decided she needed to get something non-alcoholic to drink and she should go to the bathroom. Casey bent over and picked up her underwear and bra and Jonathan's arm had gently slid to the side and rested on the bed. Casey quickly slid on her bra and then her underwear. She noticed the glass of water sitting on the end table on Jonathan's side and stood up to walk over, as she stood she felt the blood rush from her face to her feet and staggered a little bit, her head ache aggravated by the shift. She picked up the glass and easily drank what was left in the glass and sat it back on the table. Casey stayed still for a moment and listened to her surroundings the house was still quiet telling her that either no one else had stayed over or no one was awake. She looked over at Jonathan, who still lay asleep in the bed, he had just shifted position to lay on his back and turned his head to the side. It was almost hard to believe she was looking at the same person that teased and made her best friend's life almost a living hell. As he lay there before her he looked so peaceful, she listened to his quiet breathing and couldn't believe how gentle he looked. She stood and thought for a second as she reminded herself of Isaiah and that she was supposed to be his drive last night, she would have to call him later and apologise. Casey sat down on the bed and gave Jonathan a good shove to get him to wake up.

"Come on it's nine thirty Jonathan," said Casey.

"So what." Jonathan opened his eyes and looked at her not understanding why she was getting him up so early. "You have somewhere to be?"

"Well no, but we should get up and at least try to do some clean up so Caleb doesn't have to do it himself." Casey looked at Jonathan expectantly waiting for him to get up. "And don't you have to have your car back in the yard by noon or something?"

"Yeah, you're right." Jonathan sat up in the bed and Casey started to put the rest of her clothing on that she found laying on the floor next to Jonathan's clothing. "And just so you know, I don't ever leave these parties without helping a little bit." Jonathan sat up and uncovered, revealing that he was still wearing his boxers and resting his feet on the ground. Casey could tell he was watching her get ready but wasn't sure why, he cracked a smile at her. "Are you hung over?" Casey stopped what she was doing and gave him and irritated look for asking such an obvious question. She could tell by looking at him that he wasn't hung over, having built up a tolerance over the years.

"Yes, I'm hung over." She slid her shirt on over her head and patted it down to make it look a little bit straight, then played with her hair to at least get it to lay down. "I've got one hell of a headache and I need to go to the bathroom because I think I'm going to be sick." Jonathan stood up and put his pants on the grabbed his shirt from the foot of the bed.

"So go then what are you waiting for?" he asked putting on his shirt. "Just keep quiet Caleb's probably still asleep and he had a pretty rough night last night." Casey just looked at him and left the room. She wondered what he thought she was going to do; she wasn't about to run down the hall screaming. Casey walked into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror most of her make up had been rubbed off and her hair was still a mess, she was worse off then she thought. She turned on the water and ran her hands under it waiting for it to get to be warm enough then splashed the water on her face and rubbed the remainder of her make up off her face. She watched as it swirled down the drain. Now that she had stepped into the bathroom and gotten the cold water on her face, she really didn't feel sick to her stomach anymore but as she looked around the room the feeling started to return seeing the condition it had been left in. There was cigarette-ashes all over the floor, even though Caleb didn't want to people smoking in his house, along with several bottles that sat both on the floor and counter. Casey could see where someone had emptied the better part of something red in the tub. It was hard for Casey to believe that people would be so disrespectful to someone's property, but she had to stop and think that they were, after all, just average teenagers. Casey turned off the tap and dried her face on the nearby hand towel. She decided she would go ahead and clean the tub out considering if left up to a man it probably wouldn't be done as well as it needed. Casey bent over and turned on the hot water. She looked around the bathroom trying to find the cleaning products, she bent down and checked under the sink finding some spray on bathroom cleaner. She started to spray the cleaner in the tub and scrub at it with a sponge she pulled out from under the sink as well. Jonathan walked in and looked at Casey with a confused look on his face. "What are you doing?"

"I'm cleaning the tub, so Caleb doesn't have to later what does it look like?"

"You know he has a housekeeper, right? He tells me not to do any of that stuff because Caesar will take care of it," explained Jonathan. Casey stopped what she was doing and stood up and looked at him.

"Well that's nice to know," Casey started to realize that her headache was causing her to be irritable. "I'm sorry, it's my hang over talking."

"That's okay," said Jonathan, "Come on let's go downstairs and we can wake them up in a half hour or so."

"Them?" asked Casey confused wondering if Sheena had returned at some point in the night. "Did Sheena come back?"

"No way!" laughed Jonathan. "I can't see her being back for awhile after last night that fight was the biggest they've had yet I think." The two of them walked out of the bathroom and went downstairs. "Isaiah stayed here last night."

"I was hoping he did."

"Why?" asked Jonathan quickly almost interrupting her.

"Because if he walked home I would have felt bad, because I was supposed to drive him home." Jonathan nodded his head at her and walked over and started to pick up some bottles.

"Let's just try and get some of this stuff cleaned up." Casey agreed with Jonathan and went about picking up the bottles she could grab. Casey looked down at the oak parquet floor; there was mud and grass strewn about from people's footwear. She grabbed the bottles and followed Jonathan into the kitchen where they placed all the bottles they gathered on the table. The kitchen wasn't quite as bad off as the rest of the house seemed to be probably because no one spent any time here during the party, only a few bottles on the counter and some dirty glasses on the table. Jonathan walked over to the table and started to collect some of the glasses as Casey grabbed up what she could see of the bottles when his cell phone started ringing. Jonathan fumbled through his pocket for his phone and took it out quickly putting it to his ear. "Hello?" he said quickly. Casey could hear a women's voice talking quickly and angrily through the phone it was mostly inaudible. "Okay mom, I'm sorry!" said Jonathan irritated. "I told you last night that I wasn't coming back, and you were fine with it then." Jonathan's mother screamed at him more through the phone. Casey stopped what she was doing and looked at him, his mother was really giving it to him. "Well why did you tell me to be home by noon if you need the friggen car for 10:30?" He paused as his mother screamed some more about him talking back to her. "Yeah whatever I'll be home in a few minutes." Jonathan closed the phone and stuffed it in his pocket. "Well so much for getting some cleaning done before I leave. I'm going to try and get some more stuff done, run up and wake up Caleb okay."

"All right." Casey nodded and walked through the kitchen entrance making her way upstairs. She walks over to Caleb's door; she put her ear to the door and listened for any sound that they might be awake before knocking. Casey knocked at the door. "Hey Isaiah," she called, "did you want a ride home? I'm leaving now." There was no response to her knock as she placed her hand on the knob and wiggled it slightly it wasn't locked. Casey slowly turned the knob and walked into the bedroom. Caleb and Isaiah were lying in the bed still fast asleep and wrapped in each other's arms. The blankets were pulled up around their waist and Casey could see they both had only their pants on. "Oh my god!" she said shocked. Isaiah opened his eyes and looked at her she could see the panic in his eyes.

"Shit, Casey. Get out! I'll be right out," he panicked. Casey backed out of the room and shut the door with a look of shock on her face. She couldn't believe what she saw and was starting to conjure up images of what must have happened. It looked like Caleb and Isaiah had to have had sex the bed was messed up and they were both wearing less clothing and most of all they were laying wrapped up in each other like lovers. It wasn't long before Isaiah opened the door, Casey glanced in as he stepped out she could see that Caleb was buttoning up his pants before he closed the door. She couldn't help but crack a smile at him as he started to speak. "Um, Caleb is going to take me home in the truck." Isaiah awkwardly touched the back of his head and stretched slightly. "I'll stay and help him clean up for now." Casey smile gradually turned into a huge grin, it was almost fun for her to see him squirming so much letting her know that something absolutely happened.

"Oh really? Looks like you guys did a little bit of cleaning up last night, huh?"

"Yeah, a little." Isaiah cracked a nervous smile basically confirming her suspicions. "And, if by 'clean' you mean 'kicked out the passed-out messes', then yeah." The door to the bedroom opened again and Caleb stepped out fully dressed he let the door to the bedroom hang open.

"Hey, Casey. Have fun last night?" he asked.

"Not as much as you." Casey said quickly then caught herself, not wanting to cause him too much embarrassment as to what happened. "I mean, yeah, it was a blast. You?" Caleb looked over at Isaiah and gave him a small smile.

"Yeah, it was great. Got a lot off my chest last night."

"I'm sorry, all I caught from that sentence was 'got off'." Casey was getting to the point that she couldn't control her sarcasm when Jonathan walked up the stairs and stepped over to where they were standing.

"Hey C, I did some cleaning up downstairs. Thought I'd give you a hand. Place is a huge mess." Jonathan paused and looked at Isaiah suspiciously then shifted his glance over to Caleb. "You okay, bud? Heard you had a rough night last night?" Casey could tell by looking that Jonathan was picking up on the same thing she was.

"Yeah, I'm good; great, actually. So, you guys taken off or?"

"Well, we can come back if you think you want us to help out more, but I have to take the car home now. Just got off the phone with my mom and she's flippin."

"Yeah, no, that's cool, man. You go on ahead. I'll see you at practise tomorrow morning?" Caleb was seemingly in a great mood perhaps not even realising the energy he was projecting, he seemed like he was free from a lot of tension now.

"Sounds good, buddy." Jonathan gave Caleb a nudge to the arm with his fist. "Let's go Casey." Jonathan gave Caleb one last nod and discretely glared at Isaiah then started downstairs. Casey started to follow him.

"Alright. Call me later, Isaiah," she called back.

"I will!"

"Okay, talk to you then." Casey quickly headed downstairs to see Jonathan waiting at the door. "I'll follow you home then we can go to my house or something." Jonathan nodded at her as she passed him on the way out the door. As Casey stepped outside of the house she could see Sheena's car pull up and park at the other end of the yard. Her and Jonathan started down the driveway toward their vehicles, Sheena got out of her car and walked toward them up the driveway. As Sheena passed and looked at her with her expectant scowl Casey smiled back at her only able to think that she wished she could stay and see the events that were about to transpire and finally see Sheena get what was coming to her. As they made it to their cars Casey and Jonathan got in, Casey stopped and watched as Sheena entered the house then pulled out behind Jonathan.

Isaiah and Caleb watched as Casey disappeared out of view and heard the door shut, Isaiah smiled at Caleb at what he had said.

"Great, huh?"

"Yeah." Caleb smiled back at him and Isaiah stepped forward and put his arms around him resting his head on Caleb's chest. They sat still for a moment as Isaiah listened to Caleb's heartbeat in his ear. Caleb looked down at Isaiah and rubbed his hand over his head and took hold of his chin. He tilted Isaiah's head up at him and kissed him gently, both of them closing their eyes. The touch of Isaiah's lips sent chills through him, he was so unaccustomed to waking up and wanting to kiss the person next to him. He ran his hands down Isaiah's shoulders taking his body in with his hands, as the rest of the world seemed to disappear. All of Caleb's senses were preoccupied with Isaiah, he could only hear him breathing, he could only feel the softness of his skin as he placed his hands-on Isaiah's waste slightly lifting his shirt, he could only taste his lips and he could only smell the scent of his faded cologne. Caleb kept his eyes closed but he could still see Isaiah almost feeling like he could see into his soul. The kiss was the only thing in motion for them both as the moment seemed to stand still. Caleb could faintly hear a light thudding behind him but paid no attention to it. Suddenly there was a crash behind him, startling the both of them back to reality. Caleb turned around and it was as though his worst nightmare was coming through into a reality. Sheena was standing at the top of the stairs staring at them. The noise had been her purse falling to the ground and the contents spilled over the floor, the only noise to be heard was one of her lip sticks rolling around on the floor in front of them. Caleb looked up at her, he could see shock and anger in her eyes and was almost fearful for what was about to come next. Caleb stood between her and Isaiah not wanting her to lose it on him for what she saw. The few short seconds she had been standing there seemed like an eternity. Caleb watched as the tears came to her eyes he couldn't help but feel sorry for her, he felt bad that it had to end up this way in the end, but he had just felt so trapped.

"Caleb, what are you doing?" she asked

"Shit." Caleb heard Isaiah speak from behind him. Caleb looked behind him to see Isaiah take a step back then back to Sheena who still stared at him with a horrified look.

"Sheena, I…" he started

"You're a faggot," she scowled interrupting him, "both of you!" Sheena's quiet anger quickly erupted to full blown anger as she began to absorb what was actually happening before her. "How could you do this to me!" Sheena stomped toward Caleb and slapped him what he was sure was as hard as she could. Caleb cradled his face stunned at the pain she managed to inflict on him as she stared at Isaiah. Caleb quickly recovered from the slap and stood up straight again.

"Sheena, I can explain," Caleb at least wanted the chance to explain why he was doing what he did, he was sure there was no reason to explain their kiss. "Please just don't blow this outta proportion." Caleb knew his plea was falling on deaf ears when Sheena turned to look at him.

"Explain what, Caleb? There's nothing to explain, you fucking fag! Get away from me!" With all her small person Sheena slammed her hands into Caleb's chest knocking him against the wall.

"Sheena, calm down," said Isaiah. Isaiah could understand her being angry but there was no need for her to physically assault him. "Don't be mad at him."

"Oh, I'm not mad." Sheena had an almost crazed look in her eyes that would intimidate most people, but Caleb had become accustomed to her anger. "I'm absolutely fucking furious!" Caleb couldn't think of what to do other then to hug her, he stepped toward her and tried to put his arms around her, she pushed him violently against the wall again. "Don't you touch me. I don't know where you've been!"

"Sheena, please!" Caleb pleaded getting frustrated.

"Whatever, you fag. Please what? I'm out of here, you bastard." Sheena grabbed her purse and quickly gathered up the most important of what had fallen on the floor and stood up. "I bet your friends on the football team would love to hear about this!" Sheena stormed away from them and ran downstairs they could hear the door slam shut. Caleb looked at Isaiah clearly able to see the panic in his eyes. Caleb tried to give a reassuring look as he spoke but was sure the panic was just as evident on his face as well.

"Stay here."

"Okay."

"Sheena!" called Caleb as he ran downstairs. Caleb ran out of the house after Sheena and managed to catch up to her at the end of the driveway. "Sheena wait, please." Sheena stopped and looked at him.

"For what, Caleb?" she said angrily.

"Can you just hear me out, please?" Caleb thought of all he had done for her and gone through for her and started to get mad. "After three fucking years and all the shit I've gone through, with and for you?" Sheena looked at him and crossed her arms waiting for him to speak.

"Okay, talk."

"Okay, I…"

"First, I just want to ask you one thing," Sheena interrupted him.

"Alright." Caleb looked at her for a second if she wasn't going to let him talk there was no way he'd be able to say what he wanted to say.

"Is it what it looks like?" The question caught Caleb off guard it wasn't really what he had expected her anger seemed to be coming down as she got over the initial shock.

"Well, what does it look like to you?" he asked. Caleb watched as Sheena's eyes filled with tears and she came into a full-on cry.

"It looks like you're cheating on me…" She paused and looked around briefly then stared at him. "with a guy." Caleb decided that he would have to tell her everything he had been feeling right up to this point and hopefully she would understand.

"Sheena, I'm sorry, but this is something that's been inside me for so long. I just couldn't hold it in anymore," he explained.

"Then why the hell couldn't you just say something to me about it?" she screamed. Sheena's anger was once again starting to rear its ugly head at him. Caleb knew the she knew full well why he had never said anything to her about it. He didn't understand why she was pretending that she would have just accepted the fact that he had feeling for Isaiah and leave it at that.

"Because, anytime I try to say anything about anything, you completely shut me down before I can even start!" he hollered back, "I try to love you, but you act like this all the time!"

"Well, if you'd say something worth saying or hearing once in a while, maybe I wouldn't have to shut you down, so you don't embarrass yourself all the time!" Caleb looked at Sheena with a confused look as she screamed at him the only thing that embarrassed him was her and the way she would act toward people. "Caleb, you don't hear them talking about you the way I do."

"What the heck are you talking about?" he asked. He was clearly angry now she was trying to get petty with him and Caleb couldn't take her petty attitude. He had seen her bend other people to her will with it, her mother, Katelyn and Stephanie mainly but he was not about to be fooled by her.

"Caleb, people talk about you – a lot." As Sheena spoke her voice seemed calm but still loud and almost taunting. "You're just that dumb rich jock football player that people use to get a good place to get drunk and screw."

On the inside of the foyer Isaiah had been listening he leaned against the door leading outside, he could hear them yelling clearly able to follow the entire argument. Tears streaked his face as he felt like the perfect world he had built over night was being torn down in a matter of minutes. He was terrified thinking of what would happen should she leave and go tell the other guys on the team about what she had saw. He and Caleb would probably have to leave town he knew for sure that the football team would be over for both of them. There would be no way that they could continue in the game if everyone knew about them, they'd be laughed out of the game. Isaiah wished that Sheena would just drop dead and everything would be easier. The things she was saying to Caleb weren't true it was just one of her games to try and manipulate him, he only hoped that Caleb would see that. Isaiah wanted so bad to run out and be by Caleb's side as they fought but he knew that his being there would only make the situation worse. He took a deep breath and exhaled then wiped his eyes dry. Caleb and Sheena continued to yell back and forth, and Isaiah continued to pay attention.

"I don't believe you," said Caleb. "You're just trying to bring me down like you always do. Sheena don't you see this is why I can't be with you anymore?" Caleb was tired of fighting he just wanted this to be over. He could feel his hands shaking for the fear of what was to come.

"Whatever Caleb I don't want to be with you anymore, we're through and so are you!" Caleb stopped and looked at her in desperation, his eyes now streaming tears as he was overcome with emotion, not able to hold it in anymore.

"Sheena, can you please just keep this quiet?" Caleb could hear the desperation showing through in his voice it cracked as he spoke he was so upset. "Please." Sheena shook her head and looked away briefly feeling sorry for him.

"Dammit, Caleb," she said looking back at him.

"Please don't make me beg you." He sniffled as he whispered to her barely able to get the words out.

"If you were anyone else, I swear to god you would be over," said Sheena pointing her finger.

"Thank you." Caleb was relieved that he had managed to get through to her, that for a second she actually was going to show him some mercy. Caleb tried to hug her but she pushed him away again this time not throwing all of her weight at him.

"Don't touch me. It kinda makes me sick," she whispered. "I won't tell anyone about you for now. Please just give me some space for the next few days."

"Of course." Caleb wiped his eyes and sniffled one last time trying to clean himself up and the put his hands in his pockets.

"Okay, so that it's then."

"Okay." Caleb looked down at the ground as Sheena walked to her car he suddenly felt like he was going to pass out. He took a deep breath inhaling and exhaling slowly and walked toward the house. As he walked he could hear Sheena's car start and take off the tires squealing as she pulled quickly out of the yard. He looked up at the door ready to lose himself, the only thing that kept him walking was knowing that in a few seconds he would have Isaiah's arms around him again. He suddenly realised how hot their argument had made him as he moved his fingers around as his hands were sweaty and he could feel his armpits starting to perspire as well. He made it to the door and put his hand on the knob turning it slowly. He walked into the house and Isaiah was standing to his side. The whole ordeal left him feeling sick to his stomach. He looked over at Isaiah as he shut the door. He could see the same fear in Isaiah's eyes that he felt all through his body. "I feel like I'm going to throw up." Caleb fell into Isaiah, who caught him but nearly fell himself.

"Whoa Caleb, are you alright?" he asked.

"I've never been so scared in my life." Caleb tried to control his breathing Isaiah's grip around his waste brought him comfort over the situation.

"What she said isn't true about you. People don't talk bad about you. I never hear anything bad," Isaiah assured. "Is she still going to tell everyone?"

"No." Caleb paused to take another full breath of air as he steadied himself. "She says she'll keep it a secret. I managed to talk her down."

"Thankfully," Isaiah rejoiced.

"I should probably take you home now." Caleb didn't want Isaiah to leave but he feared that just having him hear antagonized Sheena and he didn't want to risk Isaiah's safety.

"Are you sure you can drive?" Caleb looked at Isaiah it was hard to believe that he was able to be so considerate, it was something that Caleb would have to get used to. "I can walk. It's okay." Caleb wasn't about to let Isaiah walk it was quite a distance to his house from there on foot.

"Nah, I'll be fine. I'm sorry for bringing you into this, by the way." Caleb felt as though he had thrown Isaiah right into the pot having made Sheena so angry.

"It's okay." Isaiah looked at Caleb and smiled as he took a deep breath, he reached up and touched Caleb's face. "The only reason I came last night was to get close to you. Same with the team, I joined to be close to you and I guess it worked out the way I wanted it to." Isaiah paused and lowered his hand still gazing up at Caleb. "You know you kissed me in your sleep last night before you woke up that first time. That's why I was so spooked when you woke up. I thought you were going to kill me." Caleb laughed nervously and reached out briefly touching Isaiah's stomach.

"Never." Caleb smiled and pulled back. "Let's get you home." Isaiah nodded as Caleb took his keys from his pants pocket and led the way out the door. Caleb walked outside and stood at the door Isaiah walked out behind him then Caleb locked the door. He walked over to the garage where his truck was held and pushed the open button on the key tag. The two of them watched as the garage opened and Caleb's truck became visible. Caleb had gotten the truck as a birthday present for his sixteenth birthday and it was almost his pride and joy. It was a Ford F150 pick up truck, his father had given him a budget to add the features he wanted to it. The truck was white with clean silver tires and tinted black windows, he had also installed a nice stereo system in it for his most recent seventeenth birthday. As the garage door was fully opened Caleb walked in and opened the drivers side door and hopped up inside. The seats were made of leather, which was also something he rather enjoyed about it. Isaiah walked over to the passenger's side and Caleb reached across the vehicle and opened the door for him, he crawled up in.

"Wow," said Isaiah having never been in his truck before.

"I know, that's what most people say the first time they're inside." Caleb laughed suddenly excited. He started the truck and began to back out of the yard.

"I had heard about this before, but I really didn't expect it to be this nice. I can only imagine how much you paid for it."

"Bah, don't even worry about it." Caleb knew Isaiah didn't come from a well-off family like he did and wanted to be careful not to rub it in his face that he did. "How about you just get used to it? I have a feeling this isn't going to be the last time you take a ride in it." Caleb brought the truck to a stop and hit the button on his key chain to close the garage door, then continued to the end of the driveway. He smiled at Isaiah again before pulling out onto the road to start the short drive home. Isaiah smiled at him as he drove. "So, are you going to be at practise tomorrow?" asked Caleb unable to really think of a conversation topic.

"Yeah," Isaiah nodded, "I should be there around eight or so." Caleb nodded he and Jonathan usually went in around six thirty to do a bit of time in the weight room before the rest of practise and so they would have the weight room to themselves. Practise was only an hour it was enough to keep you in okay shape for the game, but it wasn't enough to stay in the kind of shape he and Jonathan were in. Caleb looked at the passing scenery and realised that he knew which part of town Isaiah lived in but didn't know his exact address. He decided he would wait for a bit. They pulled up to a stop sign and another car pulled up beside the truck. The driver, a teenage boy about their age and the passenger, most likely the driver's girlfriend, were looking over at him clearly recognizing the truck, they waved at him trying to get his attention.

"Oh, ha." Caleb looked over at them and smiled and waved. "Wave to our fans," he said glancing back to Isaiah.

"They're your fans not mine," said Isaiah laughing slightly. Caleb gave Isaiah a confused look.

"Humour me?" Isaiah looked over at Caleb who was smiling at him expectantly, staring at him for a few seconds then looked passed him and waved. The guy in the driver's seat kind of gave Isaiah a weird look but the girl started to wave ecstatically. "Wow," said Caleb, "At least now there's no mystery as to why you don't have a girlfriend."

"Yeah." Caleb looked over at Isaiah and winked at him before looking back to the road and continuing the drive. Caleb had taken the route that led them through town and down the main street. It was busy for a Saturday morning all the larger parking lots were full of cars and people could be seen walking along the sidewalks. "So, you don't mind all these people seeing us together?" Caleb looked back and forth between the road and Isaiah with an almost offended look on his face.

"What kind of question is that?" he asked. "I don't care who knows I'm hanging around with you."

"Sorry," Isaiah looked down at his hands then back out the window. "I guess I'm just used to it."

"Why? I know I'm not your only friend," said Caleb still confused.

"Well you're my only friend on the team that's for sure. None of the other guys ever talk to me unless I pretty much force myself into their conversation like last night."

"And now you're pretty much dating the captain." Caleb clearly spoke before he thought and looked at the road awkwardly waiting for Isaiah's reaction, trying to look at him out of the corner of his eye but trying not to be noticed at the same time. Isaiah smiled at him and laughed quietly.

"I guess I never thought of that," he laughed. Caleb smiled at him but continued to look at the road relaxing from his comment. He was glad that Isaiah wanted to be with him and felt that right now it was all he really had to keep him together. "My mom is going to be so mad at me."

"What for?" asked Caleb.

"For not calling her. She thought I would be staying with Casey last night, but I usually call her anyway just to give her an update before she goes to bed," explained Isaiah.

"Well, when does she usually go to bed?"

"Like ten thirty." Caleb stared at the road and thought for a second.

"She's not going to be mad at me, is she?" he asked.

"Oh, no." Isaiah looked at Caleb strangely then looked outside and watched some of the scenery. Caleb had taken a turn off main-street and they were now on the back roads, it was obvious to Isaiah that Caleb was deliberately making the drive longer.

"So um, where do you live again, I know the general area because Jonathan lives pretty close by. But I don't know your address."

"Is that why you're taking the long way?" asked Isaiah with a little bit of sarcasm evident in his voice. Caleb looked at him and smirked.

"That was pretty ruthless," he laughed, "Are you trying to embarrass me?"

"Not really," Isaiah paused, "It's on twenty-seven Harris Road." Caleb nodded as the truck came to a stop sign. Caleb looked outside at the houses around them, they had come to the part of town that was basically all government housing. The yellow duplexes were spread apart just enough for each house to have a driveway. Several of the houses had kids playing in front of them. Caleb wasn't used to being in this part of the neighbourhood only since he had no friends in this area and no other, he certainly held no judgement on people in the area. Caleb had sat at the sign long enough and took a turn down a long road. Strathcona was a small place and the neighbourhoods changed rather quickly as he drove, quickly being back into what was considered the middle class of society. Down over the hill where he lived was considered the upper class of their tiny society the properties were large and most of the people were vain and full of themselves. Caleb had no friends in his own neighbourhood the only one of them that even lived close to him was Chris and he wasn't someone Caleb would call a friend. He wouldn't even of spoken to the guy if he didn't join the team. Caleb started to think of how his friends were going to react to him leaving Sheena. He knew they would be happy about that part, but him being with Isaiah wasn't going to go down with them well at all. It might be easier because it was him and they couldn't intimidate him easily like he had stopped them from doing to Isaiah when he caught them. Caleb wasn't really paying much attention to where he was going but he saw what he assumed was Isaiah's house and kept driving. Caleb looked over at Isaiah out of the corner of his eye, he was staring at him. "That was my house back there." Caleb didn't really want to drop him off yet, so he decided to do a lap around the block.

"I know," he said smiling. "I just wanted to stay with you longer."

"When can I see you again alone?" asked Isaiah.

"Well, tomorrow at practise, we'll see each other. I'm not sure what it's going to be like tomorrow otherwise, I expect to get calls from Sheena over the next day or so." Caleb wanted to be around Isaiah, but he knew Sheena was going to be calling and might even show up at his house like she had done before. He could see a look of disappointment in Isaiah's eyes. "Don't worry we'll work something out." Caleb gave a reassuring smile as they came up on Isaiah's house again. "Well this is your stop I guess." Caleb pulled into the yard and stopped the truck, he could see Isaiah's mother standing in the living room window and tried not to make eye contact with her.

"Yeah I guess so." Isaiah looked at Caleb for a few seconds, Caleb could tell by the look on his face that he wanted to kiss him. "You know she knows about me," he said. Caleb looked at him confused.

"Really? That's cool that you can be that open with her man." Caleb looked at Carla standing in the window briefly she wasn't a very big women but the look on her face was rather intimidating. "So … looks like she's waiting for you." Caleb didn't want to kiss Isaiah in front of his mother out of respect.

"Yeah, like I said she's going to be mad at me." Isaiah paused then looked at his mother then back at Caleb. "You would do me a really big favour right now if you kissed me." Caleb looked at him caught off guard. "If she see's you kiss me she'll see that I have someone in my life and she'll probably forget about the fact that I didn't call her last night."

"Man, are you sure? I don't want to have her think I'm disrespectful like that."

"Trust me." Isaiah edged over to him a little bit and stared at him. "Please." Caleb nodded silently giving Isaiah the go ahead. Isaiah moved in and kissed him, just a small peck on the lips and pulled back. "Thanks." Caleb looked up and Carla was no longer standing in the window. "I will see you at practise tomorrow."

"Okay." Caleb watched as Isaiah got out of the truck, walked around the front of the vehicle and then up the steps and into his house. Caleb backed out of the yard and started the quick drive back to his house. There was still a party for him to clean up after that he wasn't really looking forward to. He exhaled as he drove deciding painfully to take the long way home, which would only add a few minutes to his drive. Caleb wanted to go back to his house and have a nap suddenly realising how tired he was, he had only gotten about four hours sleep as he looked at the clock in his truck dash. Caleb came to a stop sign and relaxed in his seat. He was tired but had decided that he might do good to go for a run or something like he usually did on Saturdays.

Isaiah headed up the steps and into the house where his mother was waiting right at the kitchen counter across from the door. Isaiah stopped in his tracks and looked at her. She stood there in her typical jeans and t-shirt ensemble with her arms folded across her chest staring at him. He wasn't sure that she was mad, but she certainly didn't look like she was happy. He bent over to take off his sneakers as he braced himself for the worst-case scenario. Isaiah wasn't sure what she was going to bring up first the fact that she saw him kiss someone or the fact that he didn't call her.

"So," she started off, "I take it you had a good time at the party?"

"Yes." Isaiah stood up and pushed his sneakers back beside the basement door. He decided he would let her do the leading and just stand back and let her go. Isaiah had a smirk on his face that he couldn't seem to get rid of after just having the best night of his life. He leaned on the counter next to the door, knowing that if he walked away she would stop him anyway.

"You're not even going to tell me who this boy is?" Carla's voice was sharp and expecting as she still stared at him.

"That… was Caleb, Mom," Isaiah exhaled as he spoke almost not wanting to tell her.

"Caleb! That's the boy you've been obsessing about for all this time." Carla had seen Caleb before at the games but most likely never out of uniform. He took a slight offence at her terminology, he never obsessed over Caleb, he loved him and to him there was a difference at least. "Well why didn't you bring him in?"

"He had to go home and clean up after the party last night, mom."

"And you didn't offer to help him? Isaiah, I raised you better then that."

"Mom of course I offered to help him, there was some… trouble with his ex girlfriend this morning and he didn't want to antagonize her by having me there," Isaiah explained, "She's kinda crazy." Carla uncrossed her arms and let them fall to her side.

"Well can you blame her, look at him, the boy's gorgeous?" Isaiah looked at his mother for a second finding it a little bit weird to hear his mother talking about Caleb like that.

"I know that." Isaiah was tired just wanting to go into his room and pass out. "Can I go now?"

"You know you're lucky you found a boyfriend last night or I wouldn't be letting you off for not calling me." Isaiah stood up straight and started to walk to his room when Carla put her hand on his shoulder and smiled at him. "You still have to give me a hug." Isaiah rolled his eyes at her then smiled and leaned into the hug. He loved his mother, she was the one person he had in his life that he was one hundred percent sure would stand behind him through everything. He could talk to her about anything and she wouldn't judge him for it, although if she thought it was wrong she certainly made sure he knew about it but she still supported his decisions. "I'm happy for you," she whispered. "I love you."

"I love you too, Mom." Carla took a step back from him and smiled, then touched her palm to his face and walked into the living room. Isaiah walked slowly into his room and took a deep breath, the smell of familiarity filling his nose. He stood in the doorway and looked around for a brief moment happy to be in his own territory again. Isaiah took a step over to his bed and let himself collapse face down. Isaiah nestled his face into his pillow he couldn't help but smile thinking back to the joke Caleb had made. For now it seemed like this whole thing was going exactly like he wanted even though he was trying not to get his hopes up he couldn't help but be excited. There was still a lot of stuff that could go wrong, Caleb could see him at practise tomorrow and not speak to him or get back with Sheena, or decide that he wasn't ready to be in a relationship with another guy. Isaiah rolled over on his back as he decided not to even give the thought the time of day. He was sure that Caleb felt exactly like he did. Isaiah laid still for a few seconds as the comfort of his own bed started to put him to sleep. Isaiah shortly dozed off to sleep the last thing on his mind the first kiss he and Caleb had shared.

Jonathan had just gotten out of his car and had planned on taking off again with Casey to avoid being at home with his parents. However, when he had pulled in his step-father, Derek, walked out onto the step and stood staring at him not saying anything. He headed to get into Casey's car and Derek nodded at him telling him to get into the house. He knew that it was about two things, this wasn't the first time he had seen the disgruntled look of his stepfather and knew it wasn't going to be the last for him. He looked over at Casey and gave her the signal to go, knowing that she would probably wait for him until he came back outside. But he had a feeling that he wasn't going to be getting out of the house again today. He turned to walk toward the house but stopped in his tracks as Derek walked in the house knowing what he was walking into he was trying to prepare himself for it. Jonathan looked up at the house, it was an old two-story building, the white paint had started to peel and speckle in various spots on it and the old patio had places where the wood had rotted and broken through. Jonathan took another few steps forward and now stood at the bottom of the patio stairs. He put his hand on the railing careful not to put too much weight on it, his stepfather as useless as Jonathan knew he was had never gotten around to fixing it. The old black shingles that hung on the roof had spots missing. This house was practically falling apart Jonathan couldn't wait to get into University just like his older brother did and never come back. Jonathan took one last deep breath and jogged up the steps and into the house. Without looking at them Jonathan made an attempt to go downstairs, making it halfway down the stairs.

"Get the hell up here now!" said Derek sternly. Jonathan stood still for a few seconds and let out a drawn-out sigh dreading walking upstairs. He took another breath still looking down the stairs at what would be his haven. "Come on boy we don't have all god damn day here!" Jonathan turned and stomped up the stairs and out into the kitchen. "Come here and sit down." Jonathan turned and looked at him and Jonathan's mother Helen, he hated how she just sat there and let him talk to Jonathan like he was dirt. His mother wasn't good at picking men, she had left Jonathan's father when he was only three years old. His father was an alcoholic and he had lost his job for it, then he was more willing to drink rather then to work on his relationship and family, so she left. Jonathan hadn't seen the man since he was ten when he went to visit him for a weekend. Ironically this was Jonathan's first time getting drunk and his mother found out about it and never let him go back and his father didn't fight for a second chance, Jonathan had no respect for the man. And now with Derek, who was controlling and boarder-line abusive to the entire family, she had managed to score another winner.

"Can we not go through this right now please?" pleaded Jonathan as he dragged himself over to the table and sat down. Helen put a cigarette in her mouth and lit it up taking a long drag off of it. Jonathan watched as the smoke swirled up to the white painted ceiling that now had a yellow hue from all the smoking that went on in the house.

"Yes, we're going to do this now," said Derek again seemingly trying to assert his dominance over the household. "What have we told you about taking the car out over night?" Jonathan was bothered when they had these little discussions, Derek didn't bother to get all the facts about an argument as he went into it. He just took whatever he did know and made it the right part of the argument and anything Jonathan would say was wrong. As hung over as Jonathan was he definitely wasn't in the mood to deal with this.

"Do you even know what the heck you're talking about?" asked Jonathan.

"Watch your mouth young man," said Helen taking another drag off her cigarette. Jonathan stopped and stared at her for a second, she was the one who told him he could take the car out until twelve. This was the main reason that his brother, Luke, had left it didn't matter what the truth was his mother would always side with Derek when it came to discipline and right or wrong.

"Listen to your mother if I have to do something then it's going to say something it's going to get ugly." Jonathan almost seemed to be ignoring him.

"Mom you told me last night I could take the car out, you knew where I was, I was at Caleb's house for the victory party," he began, "You told me I could keep it out until twelve o clock today. It's not like you couldn't have came and gotten it."

"Yeah you were out to Caleb's, drinking, I can smell it on you still Jonathan," she snapped. Helen looked at Jonathan with such disgust in her eyes that she almost had to turn away. Jonathan just turned his head and looked forward he knew what was going to come next.

"From now on I want you that car in the yard by no later then ten o clock."

"Awe man whatever screw that," said Jonathan. Derek quickly got to his feet and stood not six inches from Jonathan. He slammed his large right hand down on the table in front of Jonathan causing him to flinch slightly. He bent down to Jonathan's level face to face, he was so close Jonathan could feel his hot angry breath on his face making his skin crawl.

"You listen to me boy, you remember that having that car is a privilege not a right and if I say you'll have it back here you'll have it back here is that clear?" Jonathan turned to face ready to put up a fight but then quickly making the decision not to, he didn't feel like going to jail again this month for fighting with Derek. He knew that his mother would call the cops on him like she did all the time and that he would end up being the one hauled away because she would take his side. "Do I make myself clear you little cock sucker?!" Derek screamed. Jonathan fell slid back in his seat feeling low and glanced over at his mother, subconsciously probably asking for sympathy but as usual getting nothing.

"Okay, okay."

"You know Jonathan your attitude makes me sick, why is it that you have to go out and get drunk so much anyway?" asked Helen sounding frustrated. Jonathan just looked at her as Derek sat back down in his chair slowly. "Is life here really so bad?"

"Are you serious?" he asked trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice, so Derek would stay seated. "Mom this is something we go through like everyday, you guys call me up here, shit on me for twenty minutes and then let me go downstairs feeling like a pile of the shit you just wiped off your ass." Helen's face turned from disgust to anger with her cigarette burning in one hand she had resting on the table over the ashtray. Jonathan stood up to walk away as she looked at him she stood up in front of him.

"You're just like your good for nothing alcoholic father!" screamed Helen. Without warning the hand Helen held her cigarette in came up and struck him across the face. Not only did her hand sting his skin but part of the cigarette had come into contact with his cheek burning him lightly. Jonathan raised his hand to cradle his face, as much as it stung the comment hurt him the most, it was something she would throw at him a lot and he could never shake the worthless feeling that followed him. Deep down he probably was turning out like his father but she certainly drove him to it.

"Go to you're room and don't let me see you until tomorrow," said Derek. Without saying anything Jonathan quickly turned and stomped downstairs into his bedroom. He walked into his bedroom the room was unfinished but it was bigger then the other options for him in the upstairs portion of the house. His mother and Derek had managed to fill the other rooms with their junk shortly after Luke left all but forcing him to move into the downstairs. The gyp-rock walls showed signs of mold starting in the corners from the stale air and damp quality of the unkempt basement. Jonathan didn't spend a whole lot of time down here unless his parents weren't home or he was grounded as was pretty much the case today. He sat on his bed and looked around his room. He had a television on an old entertainment centre he had gotten from his uncle when he had gotten a new one. The television had a DVD player attached to it along with a last generation video game system. Video games weren't something Jonathan was hugely into, but he loved them when he was high which was something he did do quite often. As much as Jonathan wanted to break down and cry he didn't, crying just wasn't his thing he hadn't done it since his grand father died when he was thirteen.

He fiddled with the old drawer next to his bed and pulled it open, he kept his stash of marijuana, here and decided it would be something to calm him down and bring him away from his emotions for awhile. He picked up the tiny box that he kept it in and opened up, there was a small amount left but it was enough to give him a good high. He took out the small baggy and his rolling papers and placed one of the rolling papers flat on his desk. He opened the baggy and poured what was left of the marijuana shavings into the paper and carefully picked it up with a hand on each end. Jonathan carefully licked the inside of the paper and folded it over rolling it carefully into a joint. Marijuana was something his mother never got after him for only because his stepfather was his dealer and she smoked it too. He made sure it was wrapped tightly and put it into his mouth; he dug into his pocket and took out his lighter then light it up. Jonathan took a long drag from the joint and felt the smoke filtering down into his lungs as he inhaled. The burn of the smoke in his lungs was a feeling that Jonathan didn't like when he started smoking marijuana five years ago but now it was something he almost lived for. To him, the burn meant good things were on the way and that he would be into a slightly distorted reality where no one bothered him and almost everything was funny. He took another heavy drag and filtered it into his head the smoke filled his lungs again and he felt himself start to relax, the feeling he was looking for was on its way in. He looked at the joint in his hand with squinted eyes it was almost gone and ready to burn out it had been slightly dry so it was burning a little quickly. Jonathan lit it again and took one last heavy drag from it, the smoke this time went down rough forcing him to cough quite harshly. He stopped shortly and took one last look at the joint, there was now nothing left of it that he could smoke it had gone out and he was ready to pass out he flicked it against the wall and watched it drop into the old tin garbage can and laid back falling to sleep.

Sheena walked into her bedroom, the bedroom was very much a reflection of her likes and personality. The entire room was pink wallpaper, her bed, with pink frilly sheets and pillows, sat in the corner of her room, overshadowed by the hunk posters she had gotten from various teen magazines. Her make fancy oak wood stand sat on the wall at the foot of her bed, covered in all of the jewellery and makeup that she owned and had collected over the past few years from Caleb. As mad as she was at Caleb he did know how to shop for her and paid attention to what she liked. Her quaint closet was next to it the only part of her room she didn't really like only because it was far too small for her and she had to stuff a lot of her clothing in her drawers. Sheena owned close to two hundred outfits most of which she had managed to get Caleb to buy for her, it was expected of her to maintain the latest fashion quo. But will all of these outfits she was starting to not have the room to hold them and considered giving the old ones to charity. But decided not to they were hers and she felt she deserved to keep them for a rainy day in case the style came back in, she loved vintage. Her laptop that Caleb had bought for her after their first year anniversary sat on her desk. It was pink as well but now that was the only thing she liked about it, it was out of date and she wanted a knew one. Last of all , Sheena's plush toy collection hung above her bed from hooks and strings, something she had started to collect when she was turning ten. She had everything from regular teddy bears, to stuffed tigers, dogs, cartoon characters, and even sea creatures. Caleb was supposed to buy her for her birthday she couldn't be seen with the old one.

Sheena had been home for just about a half an hour and all she could think about was how angry she was. She had never felt so disrespected before in her life. It was bad enough that he had cheated on her but the fact that it was another guy made it so much worse. Sheena sat on her bed after having turned on her music, she put on the angriest type of rock music she could find in her library and let it blare. She thought about Isaiah and how up until this point he was the only one on the team who she didn't have a reason to hate. She thought for a second thinking that Caleb's sudden change of mind had to be because of him. He had to have done something to him for him to just up and change his mind. She really needed to talk to Caleb alone and away from Isaiah so he wouldn't interfere with her bringing some light back to him on the love that they shared. Sheena was angered and wanted someone to pay for what they had done to her and didn't want to hurt Caleb too much and also considered their conversation. She had only said that she wouldn't tell anyone about him she never said anything about Isaiah, she would hold off for now but she needed to talk to someone before she went mad. Sheena took out her cell phone and looked through her phone book. She didn't really feel like talking to Stephanie this early in the morning, she was a good friend but not someone you would talk to in a crisis she was a little stupid. That and she had probably taken some random guy home and Sheena didn't want to deal with the awkwardness of the conversation. She knew Katelyn was out of town but she could still call her, she stared at the number on her screen when there was a knock at the door. She knew the knock would be her mother responding to the sound of the angry music, the music she would only listen to if something was terribly upsetting her, partly because she knew it would get her some attention mainly from her mother. Her mother was almost an older version of her, they got along really well because they had the same personality, she would almost think of her mother as more of a best friend then her mother sometimes making it hard when her mother would suddenly try to assert any brand of authority.

"Come in," she called over the music. She turned down the music a little so she would just be able to hear it while she and her mother talked. Her mother opened the door and took a few steps in wearing her staple pink jump suit that she wore in the mornings to work out in.

"Are you okay?" asked Norma with concern in her voice. "I know you only listen to that stuff when you're upset." Norma sauntered over to the bed and sat down with a caring smile on her face. As she looked at Sheena the smile slowly turned to concern as she could see the red in her eyes from the crying she had done earlier. "Oh sweetie what's wrong?" Sheena looked at her for a second before answering knowing that the longer she waited the more attention she would get.

"Caleb and I broke up," Sheena blurted out.

"Oh honey I'm so sorry." Norma leaned forward and hugged Sheena briefly rubbing her back. "What on earth for, what is he mad about?" Norma paused and sat back out of the hug to look at her. "What did you do this time?" Sheena was caught off guard at the sudden shift to an accusing tone, she had forgotten how much her mother loved Caleb.

"We had a big fight last night mom, please don't rub it in my face."

"You know I've told you this before, Caleb is a good young man, they don't come around often you have to treat him good or you're going to loose him," Norma snapped. She had seen how Sheena and Caleb got along together and had gotten after Sheena for the way she treated him. Sheena didn't see anything wrong with it, she treated Caleb how she thought he deserved to be treated. All she felt she did was let him know when she was disappointed in him, it was just good communication. "I hope you can work it out." Norma got up to walk away. "He's not going to keep coming back Sheena." Sheena couldn't believe that this was all she had to say to her.

"Is that all you're going to say?" she asked surprised.

"Yes. My dear, you know I normally support you on these things but I've seen the way you treated Caleb and I told you before." Sheena wasn't getting the attention she wanted from her mother, she didn't wanna hear that it was her fault that he left because she knew it wasn't.

"Mom, Caleb cheated on me. I caught him kissing a guy this morning when I went back in to apologise for the fight." Norma gawked at her for a few long seconds not saying anything clearly in shock. She had the same look on her face that Sheena was sure she when she had walked up the stairs and saw them.

"Well clearly he was drunk, you need to talk to him." Norma made a quick exit of the room shutting the door behind her. Sheena had never even thought of the possibility that he was drunk when things were happening that had to be the case. Sheena laid back on her pink frilly pillow and thought for a few minutes. She picked up her purse and took out her lighter and cigarettes removing a cigarette from the box and placing it in her mouth. She light the cigarette and took a long drag from it and exhaled blowing the blue smoke out in a cloud in front of her. She decided that she would call Katelyn after all and let her know what happened. She reached for her phone again and scrolled through the phone book picking Katelynn's name out and pushing the call icon on her phone then clicked the speakerphone button and threw it on her bed. The phone called through ringing a total of three times before there was a click.

"What's up girl?" asked Katelyn in a somewhat tired sounding voice.

"Lots, can you talk?" said Sheena being short and to the point.

"Uh oh," said Katelyn familiar with the tone in Sheena's voice. "What's wrong?" Sheena let out a sigh showing some of her frustration. She wasn't going to give the full story on seeing Caleb kissing a guy just yet because she wanted him back.

"Yeah Caleb and I broke up," she started, "We got into a huge fight at the party, and I kinda threw my drink on him."

"Sheena!"

"What? He wouldn't drive me home and he told me I had to leave the party." Katelyn was quiet for a few seconds, Sheena was starting to think that Stephanie might have been the better choice to call and vent to considering she had seen what happened.

"You still can't just throw your drink at him I'd be ticked off too though." Sheena could hear a guys voice briefly in the background. "I'm sorry to hear that though, it really does suck. So are you going to give him a second chance if he asks for it?"

"Yes I'm just waiting for him to realize his mistakes. I might text him later to remind him though." Katelyn let out a small giggle as Sheena spoke. "Um do you need me to let you go?" she scoffed. "You sound a bit occupied."

"I should probably go I'm sorry I will have to talk to you when I get back babe."

"Alright bye." Sheena hung up her phone without giving Katelyn a chance to respond and threw the phone on the floor and crossed her arms. She was going to give Caleb a day to relax then call him tomorrow. In the meantime she had a call she needed to place to the coach with concerns for Isaiah.

Casey walked into the porch her mother, Fiona, greeting her in the doorway to the kitchen. Casey's mother was a happy women who loved her daughter deeply, rather short and slight on the larger side, Casey came by her looks honestly. Fiona watched Casey with a smile as she took off her shoes off and placed them on the shoe rest.

"How was the party?" she asked, "Did you have fun?"

"Yeah it was great. Probably the best party I've ever been to." Casey stood up and both of them walked into the house and into the kitchen.

"Oh that's good to hear I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." Fiona sat at the table she had cooked breakfast enough for her and Casey both obviously she was pretty sure of when Casey would be home. "Are you hungry?" she asked. Casey wasn't really all that hungry with the hang over still beating at the back of her head but sat down anyway. The plate was just a basic cooked breakfast with a piece of toast and some eggs. Casey picked up her fork and started to pick at one of the eggs. "So did Isaiah end up having a good time? I know how he gets nervous at those sort of things?"

"Yes he had a blast," said Casey smiling at her mother chewing some of the egg.

"Oh good."

"And he met someone." Casey swallowed her food.

"Really," Fiona looked up from her food fork in hand. "Good for him who was the lucky boy?" Fiona stared at Casey with expecting eyes.

"Captain of the football team." Casey smiled and took a bite of her toast as she watched her mothers jaw drop. "I swear I'm not kidding," she laughed.

"That's so great, he must be so happy." Casey could tell Fiona was excited for him, she had watched Isaiah slip in and out of depression just as much as Casey had. Casey had one more bite of her toast and felt her stomach calling to the toilet and got up.

"I'm not really that hungry mom, just put it in the fridge and I'll get it later."

"Okay dear." Fiona stood up and took Casey's plate to the counter as Casey walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind. "Were you drinking last night?" Fiona called. Casey sat on the ground beside on the toilet and leaned against the wall waiting for the inevitable and laid her head back.

"Yes, that's why I didn't come home."

"Do you need a Tylenol or something?" Fiona was on the other side of the door.

"No mom, I don't think it would do me any good right now." Casey sat forward and threw up in the toilet. She closed her eyes tightly trying to ignore the burn in her throat from the bile and also not wanted to see what's in the toilet. She quickly reached for the handle and flushed the toilet without inhaling or opening her eyes, trying to avoid what might make her do it again. She really didn't think she had drank as much as she apparently did. She remembered most of the night looking back again. The upset feeling in the pit of her stomach slowly started to leave her again and she sat back trying to avoid thinking about it. Casey stood up and went to the sink turning on the cold water. She quickly washed her hands with the blue bar of soap that sat on the sink leaving the water running. Casey cupped her hands under the tap and filled them with water and brought it to her mouth taking it in to hopefully rinse the taste out of her mouth. She didn't throw up often and like most people she hated it. She spat the water into the sink then took another mouthful this time swallowing it. Casey turned off the tap and dried her hands on the towel that hung next to the sink. She looked in the mirror above the sink then opened the storage that it hid and reached for the aspirin, taking the small bottle out of the cabinet. She popped the top on the bottle and sat it on the counter after taking two of the caplets from its contents. Casey took the caplets in her mouth and swallowed them hard, she put the cap on the bottle and didn't bother to put it back in the cabinet. She walked out of the bathroom and went to her room feeling a little light headed but her overall condition was in far better shape.

Casey stepped into her room and shut the door behind taking a brief look around. Her room was definitely that of a so-called nerd. The décor was mostly done in green and blue which were her favourite colours, when she was young she had been a bit of a tomboy. Her computer desk sat in one corner across from her double bed, at the foot of the bed there was a small television for which she had her own satellite box all sitting on a small brown wood television stand. Sitting next to her television stand was her bookshelf, her own personal library of encyclopaedias, novels and scientific journals sat on the three lower shelves and on top sat her collection of scholastic trophies she had gotten over the years, one from almost every class, except for gym oddly enough.

Casey sat down at her computer desk as Jonathan suddenly crossed her mind, it seemed that they were starting to become a little more then just friends with benefits. The intercourse they had engaged in the night before, as Casey remembered it, was far more romantic then the usual romp they would have. He really made her feel like he was into her. She knew that a lot of Jonathan was all talk he wasn't really as much of a pig that he made himself out to be. It was just his way of being the tough guy but the way he looked at her today when he nodded her off reassured her that he wasn't as tough as he wanted people to believe. She thought he was just misguided and coming from the home she knew he came from was what made him the way he was. His stepfather was a typical abusive dirt bag and his mother stood completely behind him in everything, it was no wonder Jonathan was the way he was. Casey would never tell Isaiah, but she did feel sorry for Jonathan. Sometimes she just wanted to reach out and give him a hug and tell him it was going to be okay, that it wouldn't be this way forever. Casey's mind started to wander to Caleb and Sheena and was curious to hear about how things ended up. She had hoped that Caleb had finally seen the light and left Sheena in the dust where she belonged. Casey took her phone from her pocket and entered Isaiah's number then pressed the call button on the phone. She put the phone to her ear and listened to it ringing, it rang six times before getting the automated response, telling Casey that he was either busy and rejecting her or he was asleep. Casey sat her phone down on her desk and turned on her computer, deciding she would kill the day streaming internet videos and surfing her favourite websites.

Caleb bent over and picked up a crushed beer can off the living room floor and stood up. He had been cleaning for just about an hour and felt that he wasn't getting any closer to being done. He hadn't quite realised how many people had been there to leave such a mess. He had found several messes all around the house where people had spilled a drink and didn't bother to clean it up just leaving it to sit and ferment in the heat of the house. The house smelled somewhat like alcohol and cigarettes anyway even though Caleb strictly forbade smoking in his house. He had even found a mess in one of the bathrooms with ashes all over the floors in the bathroom that were considerably expensive. He didn't understand why people just couldn't go outside and smoke it's not like it was cold out, there was even a view if they went to the back yard. Caleb put the empty can in the garbage bag he was carrying and took a step forward he felt something that felt both slimy and wet in texture against sock feet. Caleb took a deep breath as he looked down trying not to let his frustration get he best of him. He had stepped into an open and unfinished box of pizza that he hadn't noticed before. Caleb lifted his foot and took off his sock and threw it in the garbage. Frustrated he picked up the pizza and threw in the garbage bag as well. He couldn't believe the difference in garbage, were the people that had shown up the night before all different people? He had cleaned up after these parties before and had never seen his house so blatantly disrespected before. Caleb stood still for a moment looking around the house he was tired as it was and feeling slightly hung over. He looked at the rest of the mess that was scattered beyond the living room wishing that he had asked Jonathan to come back and feeling like his emotions were about to get the best of him. He could feel his eyes swelling with tears and wiped them dry, dropping the garbage bag to the ground. He was in over his head and wasn't going to be able to finish by the end of the day on his own. He felt guilty for it but he was going to have to call his uncle Caesar, who was supposed to be off while his parents were gone to give him the house to himself. He knew that Caesar would help him no questions asked but he still felt bad for having to call him for help especially since he was supposed to be taking the time off. Caesar lived right at the house, his bed room was next to Caleb's, when he took time off he would leave the house for the entire time he had off and no one knew where he would go. No one asked because they could always reach him if they had to. Caleb took out his cell phone and dialled Caesar's phone number, pressing call and placing the phone to his ear. It only rang once before Caesar picked up.

" _Tio_?" Caleb's father had taught him when he was very young that he should address Caesar in this manner, it simply meant uncle in Spanish.

"Hello young one, how was your party last night?" asked Caesar. Caesar spoke in a faintly noticeable Spanish accent. Caleb stayed silent for a few seconds having mixed feelings about everything.

"It was alright," he said.

"That is good to hear, did you need something?" Just the sound of Caesar's voice comforted Caleb, with Caleb's parents gone all the time Caesar was more like a father to him. He had pretty much raised him since he came to the country around Caleb's fifth birthday. He was the person who would see him off to school in the morning, that would cook him supper and would in the past have been the one to help him with his homework.

"Well, I feel bad for asking _Tio_ , but the house is a bigger mess then I thought it was going to be and…" Caleb didn't get the chance to finish his sentence before Caesar interjected.

" It's okay young one," said Caesar, "I can be there to give you a hand in an hour or so. Have you gone for your Saturday run yet?" Caleb was relieved, he appreciated Caesar so much for what he did for him he didn't like to feel like he was using him. Caesar always made things so easy for him to ask him.

"Not yet. I dropped Isaiah off and I've been cleaning since I got home."

"Ah yes Isaiah, the boy from your team that you mentioned. How did things go?" Caesar could read Caleb like a book and Caleb knew it.

"It was fun, we had fun."

"That's good to hear. But go for you're run and you can tell me about your evening later while we clean up the place. I will see you later."

"Okay, thanks _Tio_." Caesar hung up the phone and Caleb stuffed his in his pocket, he headed upstairs and into his bedroom. He went into his closet and took down his jogging cloths and started to strip to get changed. Caleb was happy to be able to go for the run, it was something he really enjoyed doing and even though he was hung over it didn't matter. As Caleb slid on his jogging shorts he couldn't help but think how this would help him clear his mind. He put on his jersey and running shoes, and went downstairs to the kitchen and grabbed his bottle of water from the fridge and placed it in the case that hung on the wall. He strapped it around his waste and headed out of the house. There was two places he would go to jog, there was a path just off his property that would lead him into the woods and by a lake that he really liked to stop at for the scenery. The other was a park that he would need to take the truck to but today he decided he would pick the one off of his property. He walked over to the patio doors and slid it open the mid morning warm air flushed in filling his nose with the scent of spring. He stepped out onto the patio and closed the door behind him. Caleb stretched himself bending down and touching his toes quickly then stretching his arms and sides off the railing. Caleb took one last deep breath before dashing and bounding off the patio.

Caleb's feet hit the ground with a thump and he ran toward the path into the woods. As he ran he began to level out his pace so he wouldn't tire himself to quickly since it was probably just over an hour worth of a run. Caleb was coming up on the edge of the property bringing him into a shaded area and could see the dirt path among the bushes that made up the forested behind his house. He started in onto the path as he continued to run, the warm mid morning sun kissed his face as he broke through the initial thicket that overhung the road. Caleb continued to run the path heading deeper into the forested area, the sounds and smells of nature becoming more prominent the further in he got. Caleb began to temporarily forget about the events of the morning as he ran and as he could start to smell the wild lilacs in full bloom that partially lined the path the rest of it filled in with trees of all the local kinds. Spruce trees of different kinds, as well as Fur trees, and elm trees among other hard woods. The clear air was quickly chasing Caleb's troubles away as he breathed heavily taking it into his lungs. Caleb started to pick up the pace and was also starting to work up quite a sweat. Time seemed to have no meaning as it quickly passed him by and before long Caleb had made it to the lake.

He walked up to the shore there was a large slab of rock that sat halfway into the water that Caleb like to sit on. The rock had become a favourite spot for him to sit and just be with his thoughts. He stepped up on it and sat down, by this time sweat was rolling down his face and into his eyes he could feel the burning. He sat breathing steadily trying to regulate his breath so he would be able to get going again. Caleb took off his shirt and used it to dry his face then sat it on the rock next to him. He sat there just looking into the water, listening to the sounds around him. The wind blew lightly causing the leaves of the trees to rustle gently, he could hear several frogs jump into the water and also hear the deep gurgle of a near by bullfrog. Caleb's mind began to turn to Isaiah thinking that he would have to bring him here sometime, it wasn't like anyone else came here, it'd be perfect. Caleb took a loose piece of the rock and threw it on an angle into the lake skipping it across the top of the water five times before it actually sank. When Caleb spent his time sitting here the world didn't seem that bad, everything seemed so simple. Even when he was with Sheena he would come here and forget about her for a while every Saturday, it helped to keep him sane. He would even try to get back here in the winter months when he could unfortunately the path all but disappeared when the heavy snowfall started to show itself. Caleb took his water bottle from the case on his side and opened it. He took a small drink and then poured half the bottle over him to finish cooling him off before he started back. He had been sitting for roughly ten minutes and he would have to get back soon so he would be ready to help when Caesar got to the house.

"Better get back." Caleb said to himself and stood up putting his bottle back on his side. He picked up his jersey and put it back on before jumping down off the rock and jogging back up to the path. He started on his way back, starting to take his time at the thought of the mess that was waiting for him.

Before Caleb knew it he was coming up on the property as he entered the shaded overhang again. Caleb slowed down to a walking pace trying to prolong the clean up he was going to endure. He took off his shirt again as he walked and used it to wipe his face again as he crossed over the property line. Caleb went up to the house and walked around the front, heading into the front yard he could see Caesar's large, foreign, luxury vehicle that Caleb's father Gordon had bought for him to use. There would be times when Caesar would pick him up from school to take him to a doctor's appointment or an event of some kind. Caleb didn't mind riding in the vehicle but he felt it made him look stuck up to the other kids so he sometimes would get Caesar to meet him down the road. Caleb went up the steps and into the house, standing on the foyer.

" _Tio_ , are you here?" he called out. Caesar stepped out of the kitchen wearing his usual smile on his face to greet him.

"Hello young one, how was your run?" he asked.

"Awe man, it was great." Caleb took off his running shoes and pushed them to the side and walked over to Caesar. "It was just what I needed to get myself together after this morning." Caesar perked an eyebrow at Caleb in curiosity.

"What is this that happened this morning?" Caleb paused and looked at him thinking back to the horrible argument he and Sheena had. "I can see that it's bothering you just to think of your response, what is it young one?"

"Well Sheena and I finally broke up." Caleb watched for signs of relief in Caesar's face knowing how much he didn't like how she treated him.

"Well, as much as I'm sure you must feel hurt, I can't say I'm upset about the break my boy." Caesar put his hand on Caleb's shoulder. "It was hard to watch you follow that path for these past few years, knowing how she degraded you all of the time." Caesar pulled Caleb into a hug, this was why Caleb loved his _Tio_ so much, he wouldn't hesitate to hug him when he knew he needed it, even though Caleb was sure he stunk from the run Caesar didn't care. Caleb had managed to forget the emotion of what was happening but broke down slightly loosing control and sniffling into Caesar's shoulder. "I know it probably hurts now young one, but you're a smart boy and I know that you know, that this was the right decision for you to make." Caesar ran a comforting hand through Caleb's sweat soaked hair.

"Thank, _Tio_ ," Caleb wined quietly. Caesar pulled out of the hug and tapped Caleb lightly on the face smiling at him. Caleb couldn't help but smile back.

"Now what do you say we get this placed cleaned up so I can get some food on the table. Are you going to shower first?"

"No, I don't wanna get cleaned up just to clean up someone else messes."

"Then let's start at the top and work our way down." Caleb nodded then the two of them headed upstairs. Having forgot about it earlier Caleb headed into the guest room while Caesar went into the bathroom. He opened the door and walked into the room and took a quick look around. There was nothing that he could see right off other then the bed not being made. Caleb stepped over to the bed and stripped the sheets off of it, stopping for a second to look the bed over. He knew he was going to find something, Caleb did a walk through of the bedroom checking all the corners first and looking under the bed. He checked the bed over one last time and found what he was looking for, not wanting to touch it, it hung off the bedpost at the foot of the bed. A latex condom, he knew Jonathan would have used one and forgot to throw it in the garbage. He grabbed a couple tissues and wrapped them around it and threw it in the garbage. He quickly picked up the blankets again and stepped out into the hall, setting them down next to the railing Caleb walked into the bathroom where Caesar was. Caleb stepped in and Caesar was using a scrub on the toilet. He turned the water on in the bathroom sink and washed his hands quickly. "I see you found it," said Caesar quietly. Caleb was caught off guard realizing that Caesar paid more attention to what was happening that he thought.

"Yeah." Caleb couldn't help but laugh.

"Uh huh. So who was he lucky lady last night?" asked Caesar looking down through his bifocals at what he was cleaning. Caesar spoke so nonchalantly, he was well aware of how Jonathan was and had become used to him staying for the night after the parties and aware of the different girls Jonathan was involved with.

"Um, Isaiah's friend Casey." Caesar stopped what he was doing and looked up.

"Well Isaiah must be thrilled about that." Caleb cracked a smile thinking of the fact that Isaiah had other things on his mind last night.

"I don't think he cared, he was having too much fun last to worry about Casey."

"That's good I'm glad he enjoyed his first time here. It's just a shame he waited so long, you guys are graduating this year." Caleb started to wipe the sink to make himself busy as he spoke.

"Well I think he'll be around a lot more now that Sheena's not really in the picture." Caesar stopped what he was doing and looked at Caleb. "What?" Caleb looked at him from the corner of his eye as he continued to clean the bathroom counter.

"Nothing young one," Caesar smiled and went back to what he was doing. "I'm just glad you've found a friend that isn't into trouble all the time like Jonathan. I know Isaiah's mother Carla from the supermarket; she's the manager there. He sounds like quite a remarkable young man." Caleb cracked a smile almost loosing himself as he began to think about Isaiah.

"Yeah," said Caleb clearly lost in his thought and not realizing what he had said. Caesar looked at Caleb for a few seconds then went back to what he was doing.

"I'm glad you two are happy." Caleb snapped back to reality and looked at Caesar wondering what he meant by that, there was no way he could know about them yet. Caleb was suddenly uncomfortable he didn't want his family to know about Isaiah, they simply weren't ready for that type of relationship. His mother might be okay with after a while of awkwardness and not speaking, but his father would probably hang him or send him to some reformation camp or something. Caleb went back to scrubbing the counter as Caesar stood up and started in to cleaning the shower. Caleb felt like he really needed to get out of the room suddenly, he quickly finished the rest of the counter and stepped into the doorway.

"I'm going to get the bed sheets started in the laundry room." Caesar nodded at him as he left the room. Caleb walked into his bedroom and started to rip the bed sheets off the bed. He grabbed the sheets from that he had taken off the bed after he caught the couple in his bed. He went out into the hall to get the sheets he had taken from the guest room before heading down to the basement to the laundry room. Caleb stood at the top of the basement steps looking down. He flicked on the light and started down into the finished basement. The basement of Caleb's house was the biggest part of the house; it spanned the entire circumference of the house and garage. The basement was where his father kept all of his recreational equipment; a canoe hung on the wall in one corner with the oar's hanging on the wall on either side of the canoe, it was kept well dusted but the last time Caleb remembered it being used was when he only ten. There was a glass gun case in the corner closest to the stairs, a red light flashed on it telling Caleb that the electronic lock was engaged on it. The three rifles inside were also kept unloaded and the bullets were bought on a per use basis before they went hunting to insure no accidents could ever happen, any unused bullets were discarded and not brought back to the house. There was an expensive pool table in the middle of the room that Caleb had used quite frequently up until the more recent years. When he became the captain of the team he stopped having time to play it. At the far end of the basement they kept the washer and dryer in a separate room the small door leading to it was closed as Caleb trotted over to it carrying the bed cloths. He pushed the door open, the room was dark there were no window's as it was located off under the garage. Caleb flicked the switch to the light, it was the only room in the basement that wasn't finished. He took a couple of steps into the room, the floor was cold on his feet and the air was stale smelling. Caleb put the laundry in the washer and started it up, he didn't need to put soap in, it was automatic. Caleb flicked the light off and hurried back upstairs to find Caesar in the living room. "I got the laundry started." Caleb looked at Caesar confused as to why he was already downstairs. "Did you finish upstairs already?" he asked.

"Yes, the bathroom was the only place I can do anything to until the laundry is done." Caesar had picked up where Caleb left off; he had a plastic crate full of bottles next to him. "Can you take this into the kitchen and bring me a new one?" Caleb did what he was told and picked up the box, he could see why Caesar wanted him to take it the box was quite heavy, and took it into the kitchen. He sat it by the dishwasher and took the replacement into the living room. Caleb and Caesar continued to clean up the rest of the house. With Caesar around it didn't take long since he was used to doing it quickly and efficiently.

Several hours had passed and Caleb fell back on his bed after having cleaned up the house and had something to eat. He lay there thinking about how exhausted he was, he had been on the go pretty much since he woke up and didn't even feel like getting a shower he just wanted to lay there and go to sleep. Caleb started to doze off he had just closed his eyes when his phone started to ring. He picked it up off of his bed table and looked at the caller identification, it was Sheena calling. He sat watching it ring for a few seconds not wanting to answer it, he couldn't believe that she would call him so soon, even she said she wanted a couple of days to think. Why was she calling him? The phone stopped ringing and the screen on the phone lit up saying he had one voice message waiting. Caleb didn't feel like hearing her voice right now it would just work him up and make it harder for him to fall asleep. Caleb sat the phone down and closed his eyes easily and quickly drifting off to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5: The Rumour

Caleb opened his eyes to the sound of his alarm blaring at him. He reached over and hit the top of the clock, stopping the sound. Caleb sat up and looked over at the clock it read quarter to six. Caleb stood up and stretched his arms long and high. It was time for him to go get Jonathan and head to the gym for a bit of a strength work out like they had done every Sunday for months before practise. Caleb heard his phone vibrate on the table reminding him about the message that Sheena had left for him. He picked up his phone and pressed the one key to go through to his voicemail. He pushed in his access code and put the phone to his ear after hitting the option to listen to the new message.

"Hey Caleb, I just wanted to say I was sorry for freaking out the way I did today," said Sheena's voice. Caleb almost couldn't believe that it was her apologizing, it was the first time he could hear a bit of remorse in her voice. He couldn't help but laugh a little bit at it, she didn't get it, it was over between them. "I wanted to tell you that for now I am going to keep your secret," the message continued. Caleb suddenly felt a pit in his stomach as he could tell the message would continue as she took another breath. "But there's no way I'm going to keep his. I already told Stephanie. I'm not going to tell the guys, yet. But you and I need to talk." Caleb dropped his arm to his side as he felt his anger in the pit of his stomach. Caleb threw his phone down on the bed and quickly put his clothing on and grabbed his duffel bag then went out to the truck. Caleb stepped outside, the morning air was cold, and he could see a slight remnant of his breath as he exhaled deeply in his anger. He pushed the button on the key chain to unlock the doors as he walked towards the truck. As he got close enough he threw his duffel bag into the back of the truck and jumped inside. He started the truck and turned on the heat, letting it idol for a few minutes. Caleb worried about Isaiah knowing just how vicious she was about to become, but also knowing how it was just another way she was trying to control him. Caleb started to drive deciding on the way that he wasn't in the mood to deal with Jonathan's attitude. He knew that since he was angry he would probably not be able to hide it to Jonathan and it would probably be an argument when Jonathan started to pry. He didn't know what to do at this point, he didn't want to be responsible for Isaiah getting hurt but he wasn't about to let Sheena control him anymore.

Jonathan woke up and looked at his clock, it was quarter after six and Caleb would be there soon. He got out of bed and quickly threw on his work out clothing and grabbed his duffel bag. He listened briefly, and the house was totally quiet his parents were never up this early in the morning giving him more reason to enjoy it. He headed upstairs and went outside right away he didn't like to eat before a work out because he would feel sick to his stomach or get a cramp. He walked outside still slightly groggy and locked the door behind him. The chilly morning air hit him snapping him out of the tired feeling quickly, giving him goose bumps on his arms. Jonathan stood at his door jumping slightly to keep warm. He wondered where Caleb was as he rubbed his hands up and down his arms using some of the friction to keep warm.

"What the hell's taking him so long?" Jonathan looked at his watch; Caleb was usually there it was six o clock. Jonathan took one last look around and decided to start walking. Caleb would see him either way and he didn't want to stand in the morning air anymore being cold. The walk would help keep him warm. Jonathan walked down off of the patio and trotted to the end of the driveway. He looked up and down the road to check for any signs of Caleb not seeing anything. Jonathan started up the road toward the school it would take him about an hour to get there if Caleb didn't come get him and he didn't feel like walking the whole way there. Jonathan grabbed his cell phone out of the side pouch of his duffel bag and called Caleb's cell phone. "Man, there's just no way he would sleep in," said Jonathan. He listened into the phone it rang seven times and went to the answering machine. "Um, hey C it's Jonathan, just wondering where you are. Pretty cold morning out here, I'm walking up the street right now look for me see you soon … hopefully." Jonathan hung up his phone and tucked it back into the duffel bag. "Man come on where are you?" Jonathan continued up the street on his way to school.

Isaiah opened his eyes and sat up. He looked around his room the curtains were closed, and it was still dark. He looked at his alarm clock that was showing the time in green letters as seven o clock. Isaiah didn't usually even wake up until seven thirty as that was what he set his alarm clock for and practise was at eight o clock every Sunday. He usually dreaded going in at first because it was usually just him and a few of the other guys. The coach didn't get there until eight, but Caleb had a key and would unlock the gym, he went in early every week with Jonathan to do weights. Isaiah was excited to see Caleb again. It had been only a little over twenty-four hours but that was too long as it was. Isaiah wanted to call him all day the night before but didn't want to seem to clingy right off the bat. He had read some magazine that guys didn't like that. Not that he invested too much thought in what a magazine might say but why risk it? Isaiah crawled out of bed and made sure his alarm clock wouldn't go off then walked over to his closet to get his workout clothing. Isaiah opened the small closet and pulled out his clothing just a hoody and pair of tearaway track pants. He slid them on over his underwear he wore to bed the night before and grabbed a change of clothes for after his workout. Isaiah didn't have a separate bag for the gym yet, so he just emptied his back pack out onto his bed and stuffed what he would need in it every time he went. Isaiah emptied the backpack and stuffed his clothing into it quickly he walked into the bathroom and picked up his body wash and deodorant and put it in on top of his clothing along with his towel. Isaiah walked out into the kitchen where Carla was sitting drinking a coffee and doing a crossword still in her nightgown. She had her morning toast sitting on a small plate beside her crossword book, she looked at the clock and then looked to Isaiah.

"You're up early," she said stating the obvious.

"Yeah I got a pretty good sleep last night, I couldn't sleep anymore if I wanted to," explained Isaiah. Carla took a bit of her toast and swallowed.

"You didn't want me to take you in now did you?" Carla looked up at him clearly not wanting to leave just yet. Isaiah took the cue from her and decided to get some stretches done before going in, not wanting to disturb her. Carla was used to having the morning to herself, so Isaiah would let her have it. Her job demanded long hours and she did it all for him, so he understood why she enjoyed her downtime so much.

"No, I'm going to get some stretches before I go, just to warm up mind taking me in about a half hour though?"

"Of course, I can." Carla gave Isaiah a warm smile and he smiled back at her as he went into his bedroom. He drew the deep blue, light filtering, curtain and looked outside. He could tell just by the way everything was standing still that it was a cool morning. Isaiah stood in the middle of his small room and started to do the stretches he had researched online when he started his get in shape kick.

Caleb had arrived at the gym over an hour ago and had been in the weight room since he got there. The room was slightly chilled from the air conditioning and there was a small radio playing rock music giving him some background noise. It was around seven thirty now and the frustration from the phone message hadn't left him yet. Caleb had been letting his anger out on his body pushing himself as hard as he could in his workout. He had been all over the weight room that morning on about every machine doing as many reps as he could then moving on. He laid back on the bench and began bench pressing as much weight as he was capable of, grunting after each rep. Because of his work out Caleb had sweat so much he soaked his shirt completely through. Caleb's mind was heavy with the thought of what was going to happen when Sheena did finally tell people what she saw. He also wondered exactly what she had told Stephanie and Katelyn and whom they had told. He just wished that for once in her life Sheena could care about someone other then herself. He felt bad for putting Isaiah in the middle of this mess, he didn't think Sheena quite realized what this could do to him if it got out. He was definitely going to be discriminated against in someway. The only thing that Caleb was certain about is that he wouldn't stand for it, he would do whatever he had to do to protect Isaiah. At this point if it meant tearing his life down around him then that didn't matter. The life he was living was only going to go on for somewhere around a month before everything would be done. The two of them would be off to University and he could forget this town and everyone in it if he had to and it probably wouldn't phase him. All of the meaningless, hollow friendships he had made over the year with these people didn't matter to him. Most of them wouldn't even cry if he died tomorrow, let alone miss him if he didn't see them again. Isaiah was really the only person in his life other then his family that he could see anything in. He didn't want to be around Caleb for his money or what he owned, he wanted him for him it wouldn't matter what they did or didn't have, and Caleb was sure of it. Caleb's thoughts made him more and more frustrated as he kept benching the one hundred and sixty pounds he held in his hands. Jonathan walked in and looked around before looking at him.

"Man, what happened this morning?" he asked as he stepped over to the bench next to Caleb. "Thanks for picking me up!" Caleb didn't appreciate the sarcasm and chose to ignore him as he did three more reps having trouble with the last one the weight starting to bare on the muscles in his arms. "Okay, what did I do?" Jonathan stared at him with a confused look on his face waiting for some kind of response, Caleb stayed silent. "Asshole." Jonathan started to do a few arm stretches as he got ready to do some weightlifting of his own. Caleb did two more reps and struggled with the last one, his muscles were ready to give out he felt them getting weak. Grunting loudly Caleb threw the weight to the floor with one last quick burst of strength. A red hue on his face, he sat up on the bench, breathing heavily as he wiped his face with the towel.

"Whatever, dude. It's not my responsibility to get you here every time we practise," said Caleb unable to contain his frustration as he inhaled and exhaled deeply. Jonathan stopped what he was doing and looked at him.

"Well, sorry for assuming that we were going to do what we've done for the last –you know – six months or so," said Jonathan angrily. "What the hell's your problem?"

"I'm not your mother, and I'm not your god damn taxi service," Caleb snapped. Jonathan looked at Caleb dumbfounded at the sudden attitude. Caleb had always managed to hold himself together when he was angry and not let anyone see this side of him but the emotions were too much to contain as he played Sheena's voice message over and over again in the back of his mind. Caleb stood up and walked over to the fountain bending over it to take a sip of the water. He walked over to one of the blue mats on the floor and sat down. Caleb used his nearby towel to wipe the sweat from his face before starting to do some sit-ups.

"Whoa dude, who the hell pissed in your corn flakes this morning?"

"Well," Caleb stopped and looked at Jonathan for a second, before continuing thinking of the cover he would use for his stress, "Sheena and I broke up yesterday." Caleb's frustration was still evident in his voice as he chose the only issue on his mind that he knew Jonathan would understand. "Does that count for anything?" Caleb continued his sit-ups.

"What the hell over, man?" asked Jonathan completely caught off guard. "What did Isaiah tell you the other night?" Jonathan kept with his stretches while not breaking eye contact with Caleb.

"Isaiah?" Caleb did another sit-up and stopped again to look at him. "What does he have to do with anything?" Caleb wanted to draw as much attention away from Isaiah as he could but because they had spent so much time together it would be hard.

"What the hell did you guys talk about the other night?" Jonathan stopped what he was doing and suddenly gained an accusing look on his face. "I saw you guys being all _huggy buddy_ on the deck."

"Yeah, we talked about me and Sheena," said Caleb with a cocky tone in his voice. "He's not why we broke up though." Caleb didn't feel he was lying ultimately Isaiah may have pushed it along, but it was an inevitable truth before long. "We broke up cuz she treats me like garbage and I'm sick of it. I know you've seen it before. Hell, you've even egged me on to break up with her, before!"

"Man." Jonathan's voice got quieter as it always did when he talked about something he was suspicious about. "Why did you let him sleep in your room the other night?"

"Well, I wasn't going to let him sleep on the couch," Caleb explained, "He's a guest and what's it to you? You've slept in my bed with me before." Caleb paused purposely-leaving Jonathan in an awkward position knowing that he wouldn't have anything to say. "None of us could take him home and you banged his ride. If you're trying to blame any of this on Isaiah, you can just stop." Caleb was down right sick of Jonathan's attitude toward Isaiah and the way he was treated by his fellow team-mates. "I know how you feel about him; how everyone feels about him. You're about as subtle as a guy in the panty aisle with his girlfriend." As Caleb spoke he tried to sound more like the team captain and less defensive but it didn't seem to be working.

"Dude, I don't know what happened to you in this last day or so, but I don't like it," explained Jonathan with a certain degree of worry in his voice. "The Caleb I knew would never act like this."

Isaiah walked through the doors to the gym no one was there yet but he knew that Caleb and Jonathan would be in the weight room. Isaiah entered the locker room and unlocked his locker. Caleb's stuff was already there he could see his sneakers in front of his locker, Isaiah smiled. Knowing he would see him soon made him happy. Jonathan's locker door was hanging open with his belongings hanging half out of it telling him that Jonathan must have unpacked in a hurry but not yet sure as to why. Isaiah changed his sneakers and put his belongings into the locker then locked up. He headed back out into the gym and then out into the corridor of the school, the weight room was down the hallway and to the left. As Isaiah approached he could hear Caleb and Jonathan talking quite loudly like they were arguing. Isaiah made it to the door listening for a moment to the muffled voices. He could hear Caleb sticking up for him then Jonathan spoke something inaudible. Isaiah put his hand on the door and turned the knob deciding to pretend not to have heard anything. Jonathan looked back at him then back to Caleb. Isaiah looked at Caleb who had looked like he was there for a few hours judging by how wet his cloths were.

"Morning," Isaiah greeted as he walked in. Isaiah sat down a few feet away from Caleb on another of the blue mats as he prepared to start his own work out. "Man, how long have you been here?" he asked smiling at Caleb. "You're soaked!"

Caleb smiled back at Isaiah it had only been twenty-four hours, but Caleb did miss him. He looked at Isaiah smiling back at him and the message stop playing in his mind for a few minutes. As Caleb clearly relaxed at the site of Isaiah, Jonathan stood staring at the two of them briefly.

"Yeah. I've been here since like six thirty," Caleb laughed nervously.

"Dude, what the fuck?" yelled Jonathan angrily.

"Jonathan, calm the hell down," said Caleb having gotten most of his composure back.

"Man, no way! I come in and you're practically down my throat for being into a routine and being concerned. Then this…" Jonathan paused and pointed to Isaiah, "one walks in and suddenly you look like a pig in shit? Nah man, to hell with this. I'm outta here!" Jonathan proclaimed. "I'll see you on the track." Jonathan stormed quickly out of the weight room clearly angry.

"Something I said." Isaiah leaned back resting his weight on his hands.

"Don't even worry about it." Caleb stared for a few seconds. "I missed you." Caleb spoke plainly losing himself in his mind for a brief time. Caleb smiled and looked away from Isaiah. "Sorry."

"I missed you too," said Isaiah. "I wanted to call you last night, but I didn't want to bother you." Caleb looked at Isaiah with a somewhat surprised look on his face.

"Bother me?" Caleb laughed. "If you had of called my day would have been better. All I did was clean up other people's garbage all day, pretty much." Isaiah looked at Caleb with a bit of a disgusted look on his face at the sound of cleaning up after the party.

"Was it that bad?" he asked.

"Oh man, it was the worst I've ever seen it. I had to call my _Tio_ to come help me," Caleb explained.

"You're _Tio_?" Isaiah looked at him with an inquisitive look on his face. Caleb wondered why he sounded confused then realized that he hadn't explained the word.

"Oh, yeah sorry. _Tio_ is Spanish for Uncle. It's what my father taught me to call my uncle Caesar when I was really young. He's our housekeeper, but I love him like a father," explained Caleb. Isaiah nodded, clearly not used to talking about having a housekeeper. "He knows your mother actually, we talked about you yesterday." Caleb laughed as he realised how awkward he probably just made their conversation. Isaiah smiled awkwardly and looked away. Caleb looked away and stared at the floor briefly. "Sorry… You should really say something or I'm going to keep on making a fool of myself." The two of them laughed quietly.

"So how was your workout?" Isaiah gestured at Caleb's shirt. "Looks like you've been trying really hard."

"Yeah." Caleb nodded his head. "I somehow managed to find a little bit of extra energy this morning." Caleb thought for a second deciding not to tell Isaiah about the message, not wanting him to worry about it. "I usually don't have this energy not really sure where it came from."

"Yeah you're usually not this um…" Isaiah paused as he searched for a better word but couldn't think of anything better then. "… wet." Caleb laughed at Isaiah's description. "It's the best way to put it," Isaiah laughed.

"So, how did you sleep?"

"Good actually I woke up early and got all my stretches done…" Isaiah paused. "So I could get here early to see you." Isaiah looked over at Caleb again. Isaiah wanted so bad to just reach out and touch him. As he thought about it for a few seconds, he realised that he was free to do so. For the first time since he had known Caleb and had these feelings, he was aloud to touch him and not worry about the consequences. Isaiah slide over toward Caleb and reached out putting the palm of his hand on Caleb's dampened face. Caleb smiled at him as he leaned in and kissed him. Caleb's lips tasted a little bit salty from the sweat that ran down his face, but Isaiah didn't care. The feeling of Caleb's lips on his was like a caressing silk. Caleb brought his hand up to Isaiah's neck and held it there as he started to French kiss him getting caught up in the moment. Isaiah began to feel excited and pulled away not wanting to be embarrassed about it.

"I've been waiting for that since you walked in," whispered Caleb as he sat back into his former position on the mat. Caleb looked at the clock that hung on the wall the hands reading that it was only seven thirty-five. "You wanna disappear with me for a little while we have some time to kill." Caleb smiled seductively at Isaiah who shyly smiled back at him giving Caleb his answer. Caleb stood up quickly pulling Isaiah up with him and dragging him over to the door. He opened the door to the hallway and peaked out the door looking up and down the hall twice. "Come on." Caleb started out into the hall Isaiah reluctantly following him.

"Caleb where are we going?" he asked

"Well, the locker room and shower room are too dangerous," whispered Caleb stating the obvious. "So, I thought the third floor bathroom would be nice and quiet." Caleb and Isaiah turned a corner out onto the landing of the second floor and started up the steps carefully listening for any sign of people.

"What if we get caught?" Isaiah whispered starting to get scared of the possible reality.

"We won't don't worry." Caleb walked into the bathroom ahead of Isaiah quickly checking the stalls. Isaiah walked in slowly behind him. "In this one." Caleb pulled Isaiah into the stall farthest from the doorway to the bathroom shutting the door and securing the privacy lock. They stopped for a few seconds standing still and looking at each other. Isaiah could hear water droplets from the old copper plumbing. Every sound seemed to echo off the solid tile walls of the old bathroom as Caleb put the seats down on the toilet covering the toilet bowl. Isaiah stood looking up at Caleb the smell of Caleb's spray on deodorant started to fill his nose, far more intoxicating than he thought any drug could be. "I want you so bad." Caleb aggressively pushed Isaiah against the wall of the stall and started to kiss him letting his passion overcome him. Isaiah was overcome by Caleb's lust for him and stood there as Caleb ran his hands over his body, almost not sure what to do. Caleb kissed his neck and pulled back and looked at him. "Are you alright?" he whispered.

"Sorry I'm just not sure what to do," Isaiah whispered, nervously.

"Anything you want," Caleb whispered and leaned forward putting his mouth right next to Isaiah's ear, "I'm yours." Caleb pulled back slightly now standing face to face with Isaiah gazing into his eyes and smiling at him. "Anything." Isaiah smiled back at him then brought his hands up placing one on each side of Caleb's face and pulled him into a kiss. Isaiah slowly and lightly ran his hands down Caleb's body feeling his defined chest heaving as he breathed heavily with excitement. Isaiah put his hands up the wet shirt feeling Caleb's soft damp skin and pulled back from the kiss. Caleb smiled and lifted the front of his shirt up and put it over his head exposing his torso. Isaiah stared for a second at Caleb's skin shining under the fluorescent lights of the bathroom. Isaiah had seen Caleb naked in the showers several times and not really thought anything of it. Most likely because he tried to put it out of his mind to bare his own sanity, but now he could take it in an relish the full effects of it. "Are you okay?" asked Caleb. He sounded nervous, but it was only because of Isaiah's seemingly dazed reaction.

"Yes, I'm okay." Caleb reached out and touched Isaiah's chest, the warmth of his hand sent chills through Isaiah's body. Isaiah decided that he had stood still for long enough and started to kiss Caleb's chest and slowly worked his way down. He stopped for a second at his navel as Caleb let out a quiet moan obviously enjoying the feeling. Isaiah reluctantly put his hands up to the elastic waistband of Caleb's shorts, he looked up at Caleb who was gazing down at him with an erotic look on his face. Caleb nodded for him to keep going and nervously, Isaiah pulled down Caleb's work out pants exposing his white briefs. Isaiah could see the shape of Caleb's erect penis in his underwear, Isaiah nervously reached out and touched him. He had never actually done anything with anybody this being his first sexual experience he was nervous about what to do.  
"Keep going," whispered Caleb with a certain lust in his voice. Isaiah could hear the lust in Caleb's voice and it was exciting him, he could feel his heart pounding like it was going to explode out of his chest. Isaiah slowly pulled down the briefs revealing Caleb's body. Isaiah stared for a second, he had often heard Sheena bragging about Caleb's endowment it appeared the bragging was well deserved; Caleb indeed was a "big boy". Isaiah put his hand on Caleb's body anticipating his next move before taking Caleb into his mouth. The taste of Caleb's body was that of salt, but it didn't bother him.

Caleb looked on with excitement as Isaiah took him into his mouth. Caleb was so excited that the softness and warmth of Isaiah's mouth almost brought him instantly to climax. He held back not wanting it to be over but let out a soft groan in pleasure as Isaiah started to perform on him. Caleb felt himself getting closer as Isaiah moved him in and out of his mouth and had to brace himself on the bathroom stall reaching up a hand and grabbing for the metal side. He leaned back against the cold metal wall ignoring the discomfort from the cold on his skin. Caleb dropped his head back as he got closer and closer to climax. Caleb grunted one last time he knew he was only seconds away. Suddenly they heard the door to the bathroom open. Isaiah stopped what he was doing and quickly but quietly stood up. He looked at Caleb with a look of fear residing in his eyes. Caleb pulled up his pants and underwear quickly not sure what to do. They could hear the person's footsteps getting closer and closer. Isaiah looked around and jumped up and sat on the back of the toilet being as quiet as he could. Quickly thinking as the footsteps got closer and closer to them he grabbed Caleb by the arm and pulled him over to him sitting him on the toilet. Caleb took the hint and pulled down his pants to make it look to anyone glancing in that he was just going to the bathroom.

"Hello?" called out an unfamiliar voice to both. Caleb looked back at Isaiah not sure of what to do. Isaiah just looked at him expecting him to call out.

"Um, hello?" called Caleb sounding unsure. The footsteps stopped as Caleb spoke they could hear they were only a few feet from the door.

"Is that you Caleb?" The two of them began to recognize the voice as it spoke, it was the school janitor who they didn't know was in on Sunday's. "What are you doing up here son? A little bit of a distance from the gym isn't it?"

"Yeah I guess, just wanted to get some privacy," said Caleb putting stress on the word privacy and hoping that he would take the hint.

"Alright then kiddo I'll come back in later I guess. I can always do the second-floor bathroom first. Have a good one Caleb." They heard the foot steps make a hastily exit and Caleb got up off the toilet. He pulled his pants up again and turned to look at Isaiah who was white in the face. Caleb opened the door and looked out into the rest of the bathroom to double check that the janitor had indeed gone. The room was clear, and he signalled Isaiah letting him know it was safe to go now.

"Let's get to practise now most of the guy should be here by now. I'll run down ahead of you so they don't think anything," explained Caleb. Isaiah nodded as Caleb quickly left the bathroom ahead of him. Isaiah stood in the empty bathroom for a several long seconds looking at himself in the large mirror that sat in front of the sink. He hoped that Caleb had enjoyed their experience as much as he did, but it wasn't an appropriate time to ask. Isaiah glanced at his watch realising that practise had already started. Caleb must have arrived in plenty time for it not to look suspicious for them both to be gone so Isaiah started to head back.

Isaiah walked downstairs and went into the weight room. Sunday's practises had become just a day at the gym for the most part with somewhere around 45 minutes of weight time and a half hour or track time. Since it was evident to the coach that Caleb had already done his portion of heavy weight lifting. Caleb coaxed along the others throughout their weight work out. Isaiah didn't mind doing the work out in the weight room. He just couldn't lift as much as the others and they weren't shy about making note of it. For some reason though through out this session in the weight room everyone was quiet. Isaiah knew they must have known he stayed with Caleb the other night and couldn't help but notice they were acting different toward each other. They hadn't been acting like best friends, but the occasional smile had become unavoidable. Followed by an accidental blush or two on Isaiah's part that he managed to quickly cover up and wasn't sure that anyone even saw it.

The forty-five minutes in the weight room passed slowly but quietly. The entire team had turned out and those that wanted to, moved to the running track to continue but several decided to stay in the weight room. Caleb, Isaiah, Jonathan, Mike and Andrew were passing the last bit of time on the track. Jonathan was still obviously upset about the fight in the weight room and wasn't saying much. Caleb and Andrew were running side by side the others ran a small distance behind them. Word had spread that Caleb and Sheena weren't together and some were surprised others weren't. Andrew was starting to question Caleb about their situation.

"So, not gonna give Sheena another chance?" asked Andrew as they kept a steady pace. "Dude, you know she wants you, right?" Caleb ran at a pace enough to get a decent work out but slow enough to be able to talk along the way. He was silent for several seconds thinking of what to say.

"Yeah, and what if I don't want her?" The tone in Caleb's voice implied that he had already moved on to someone new. Andrew just gave him a confused look not catching on.

"What the hell are you talking?" The look on Andrew's face quickly changed to surprise as he realized what Caleb was talking about. "Oh dude, you got some new pussy already?" Andrew turned to call back to Mike who was only a few steps behind them. "Hey Mike. Caleb's got a new piece!" Mike picked up the pace to catch up them then matched their pace. Isaiah and Jonathan were close behind them.

"So, it's really over with you and Sheena? Man, they're gonna be lining up for her," laughed Mike.

"Yeah well, they can have her," said Caleb with frustration singing in his voice. "She gives great headache." Caleb could hear Isaiah's laugh behind him as he started to pick up the pace to catch them.

"What went wrong?" asked Mike. "You seemed so perfect together." Caleb looked at Mike confused about the statement. He wasn't sure if Mike was trying to patronize him or if he really was just that naïve about the situation.

"Perfect for each other?" Isaiah caught up to them running beside Caleb glancing at Mike as they ran. "Define perfect. Didn't you see them fighting at the party?" Jonathan caught up behind them quickly and ran on the other side of Caleb he hadn't said anything to Caleb or Isaiah since Isaiah first arrived earlier.

"What would you know about it, faggot?" he snapped. Caleb looked at him frustrated.

"Jonathan, dude, we're on the clock here. You can't say that stuff. We've been through this." Caleb paused, and Jonathan continued to show his disgust in his silence. Caleb shook his head and decided to continue on with the conversation. "Nah, when it comes down to it guys, Sheena may be hot but that's all she cares about. She's a shallow bitch."

"Kinda harsh," said Mike sounding discouraged about the situation.

"Man, Mike, where have you been?" asked Isaiah surprised at Mike's ignorance to the situation.

"You try dealing with her." Caleb looked around a bit he had done enough for the day and was starting to feel it. "Okay guys, that's it. I'm hitting the showers." Caleb slowed down and the others kept going, he trotted over to the gym and went into the locker room he walked over to his locker. Coach Adams followed him into the bathroom. Caleb took out a small towel and wiped his face off as he turned to face Coach Adams.

"Caleb, can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked.

"Sure Coach. What's up?" Caleb continued to wipe the sweat from his arms and neck as he stared at the Coach.

"Sheena brought up a concern to me. I heard you guys broke it off. Are you okay?" The Coach had a concerned look on his face, but Caleb didn't really understand why. Him and Sheena breaking up was hardly something worth worrying over from a coach's stand point.

"Yeah I'm okay."

"I'm glad you're okay. I can't have my best player being bothered by some girl right," joked Coach Adams. Caleb looked at him, confused.

"Is that what you wanted to ask me?" Caleb dropped his towel on the bench and stood staring at the Coach.

"No," Coach Adams shook his head, "that wasn't it. That was the side topic. Sheena told me that she saw Isaiah kissing a guy at the party," explained Coach Adams, "You hear anything about that?"

"No, nothing." Caleb could feel a rage bursting inside him at the fact that she would have the nerve to call and tell the coach like this. The anger burned inside his stomach and he knew if he let it shine through then it would probably get the coach concerned. Caleb swallowed hard and pretended to look for something in his bag while he composed himself. "But, if you don't mind my asking, why does it matter?" Caleb sat down and started to take his clothing out of his duffle bag. "Whatever he is, is what he is as long as it's not you he's trying to kiss, right?" Caleb lifted off his shirt and rolled it up then stuffed it in the bag, trying to make it look like he was in a hurry hoping the Coach would take the hint and leave.

"Well, Caleb, that may be true, but the football field is no place for boys like that. You may be fine with it, but the rest of the guys on the team certainly won't be," explained Coach Adams. Caleb expected to deal with the bigotry on the team, but he didn't expect to get it from a faculty member his irritation was starting to shine through in his words as he wasn't trying as hard to hold back anymore.

"Well, Coach, as a teacher and authority figure in the school, I guess that would be for you to deal with, right?" Coach Adams looked at Caleb caught off guard by the attitude but decided to let it go.

"You're right, Caleb. I'm just trying to nip this in the bud before it becomes something serious I might have to deal with." Caleb decided to try and drop the attitude and use the break up as a shield.

"Coach, don't worry about it. I'm pretty sure it's a lie. She's just pissed off at me so she's trying to mess things up for us here and get you on my case because she knows it would stress me out," he explained trying to play on a bit of sympathy.

"Okay kid, I believe you." Coach Adams gave Caleb a final nod before turning to head out of the locker room. Caleb watched him go and took off his shorts and underwear grabbing a towel out of his duffel bag. He put the towel around himself and grabbed his body wash and walked to one of the private stalls. He hung the towel over the door and turned on the water, which ran cold at first as he stepped into it. Caleb flinched as the icy water touched him having worked up quite a sweat from the morning's work out. The water started to get warm and he stepped back into it. Caleb squirted some of his body wash into his hand and began to lather up, looking up at the fluorescent light that shone overhead.

"Bitch, I can't believe she'd tell him."

Isaiah continued running outside with Jonathan, Mike and Andrew as they did laps. Isaiah didn't have any issue with running; he would often do an hour and a half on the treadmill during his efforts to get in shape. The sweat he had worked up was pouring from his forehead; his hair was soaked along with different spots on his clothing. Isaiah continued to run in silence, feeling awkward around the others, when Jonathan ran up beside him. Isaiah glanced at him briefly then continued to run, he waited for Jonathan's remark now that Caleb wasn't there to stop him.

"Hey, Casey said that you haven't called her yet? She told me to tell you to today," said Jonathan, staring straight ahead as he ran.

"Oh yeah, I was tired yesterday," Isaiah lied, he didn't call her because he knew she was going to question him. "I was just gonna call her tonight you can let her know if you see her before I call her."

"Ah okay." Isaiah watched as the others walked off the field and was waiting for the conversation to get more awkward. "So, it didn't take Caleb long to find someone new huh? Any idea who it is?"

"Um, no," said Isaiah his nervousness shining through. "Maybe someone out of town, I've seen him talking to a few different people after games."

"I wonder why he wouldn't tell me," said Jonathan with a tone of suspicion. Isaiah ran for several long seconds in silence contemplating what Jonathan had said.

"Well Jonathan," said Isaiah bravely, "maybe you're not as good of a friend to Caleb as you thought you were." As Isaiah finished speaking he stopped and walked off the track to the locker room, leaving Jonathan with what he said. Isaiah walked into the locker room and met Caleb on his way out. "Oh, hey." Isaiah smiled at the sight of Caleb. "What are you doing after practise?" he asked.

"I'm not really sure, I wasn't planning on anything," Caleb smiled back at him as he spoke. Chris walked up behind them and stopped behind Caleb.

"Hey dude you wanna come over and watch the game later on?" he asked. "Starts at two, over at six." Isaiah glanced at Chris then quickly looked at Caleb and walked passed him into the locker room. Isaiah didn't want to make anyone suspicious, he walked over to his locker and took out his towel and body wash.

"Um, yeah sure Chris I'll be over around two or so," said Caleb, "Want me to bring any munchies or anything?"

"Nah whatever you wanna bring is fine." Caleb looked back at Isaiah who had just taken off his shirt and walked out of the door. Isaiah looked behind him just in time to see Caleb exit and let out a sigh. Isaiah took off his workout pants and slid his boxers down and wrapped his towel around his waist. He headed into the shower behind some of the other guys and took his usual spot away from them. Isaiah turned on the water and let it run over him, it was already warm from being used earlier. Isaiah could still smell Caleb's body wash as he started to lather up in his own. His skin tingled as the tea tree oil from his body wash soaked in to his skin, he kept his eyes closed as he ran his hands over his entire body thinking of what he and Caleb had done. It kind of bothered him that they didn't have the chance to finish what they had started or even to talk about it. He knew that it was just a matter of patience everything was going to happen. Isaiah stopped thinking about it so he wouldn't get excited and embarrass himself in the shower with the other guys, or even worse. Isaiah opened his eyes as he finished and turned off the water, quickly putting the towel around him. As he walked out of the shower he met Jonathan who was walking in. Isaiah avoided making eye contact and Jonathan walked right by him. Isaiah walked quickly to his locker and started to get towelled off and dressed, he wanted to get out of there before the others did. He quickly dressed and put his stuff in his pack and walked outside. His cell phone in his pocket let out a beep telling him he had a text message waiting. He dug it out of his backpack and looked at it, Caleb had sent him a text message. _"Wanna go for breakfast?"_ Isaiah smiled as he read it and started to text him back as he exited the school. He had the phone in his hand trying to send the text message. Unlike most of the other people his age with a cell phone Isaiah hadn't become much of a fan of texting, preferring just to make the phone call. He stood in front of the school struggling to text when he heard an engine rev not to far away. He looked up and seen Caleb's white pick up driving up to him, it stopped in front of him and Caleb flung open the door.

"Hey, so did you wanna come?" he asked.

"Yeah," Isaiah laughed, "I was just trying to send you a text message."

"Well come on let's go." Isaiah jumped up into the truck and closed the door and Caleb quickly pulled away from the school. "Where'd you wanna go?"

"Anywhere you want is fine I'm kind of low on cash, but I can muster up enough for a bagel or something." Caleb looked over at him with a confused look on his face. Isaiah looked back at him not sure what he had said but was scared that he had offended him.

"What are you talking about?" he asked. Isaiah looked at Caleb for a second as Caleb glanced back and forth between him and the road. "You don't think I'm actually going to let you pay do you? I wouldn't ask you and then make you pay for your own food." Isaiah smiled and looked down at his hands that he rested in his lap.

"Thanks Caleb." Going out to eat wasn't something Isaiah did often, he simply didn't have the money to go. Usually the only income he had was from birthday's and other holidays and it was almost always in the form of cheques and cards from relatives he never saw or hardly knew. "So where are we going?" he asked.

"Just a little place my parents frequent quite a bit," Caleb paused, "when they're around. It's out of town though you don't have to be anywhere anytime soon, do you?" Caleb looked over at him with an expecting look on his face.

"No." Isaiah nodded his head excited to see where he was taking him. "I'm just gonna call my mother and let her know I'm not coming home right away though." Caleb nodded as Isaiah took out his cell phone, he dialled his house phone number and pressed the call button on the face of the tiny flip phone. He put the phone to his ear. The phone rang a couple of times and Isaiah started to hope that she hadn't left to get him already. She picked up the phone after six rings. "Hey Mom."

"Hey honey, I was just about to head down to get you. Are you okay?" asked Carla from the other end of the phone.

"Yeah I'm okay. I just wanted to let you know that Caleb is going to drop me off later. We're going to go get something to eat." Caleb smiled at Isaiah as he talked and he smiled back reflexively. Carla seemed surprised as she was quiet for a few seconds.

"Alright if you need anything call me."

"Okay Mom, you know I will. I will see you when I get home." Carla ended the phone call with their standard goodbyes and hung up the phone. Isaiah closed his phone and shoved it into his pocket.

Sheena opened her eyes and looked at her clock it read to ten thirty, she was hung over. Her head was aching, her mouth was dry, and her eyes were bloodshot. Sheena had been up late Saturday night with Stephanie and Katelyn. They had been drinking heavily and had met some guys from out of town, she could remember making out with one of them but couldn't remember anything beyond. But she was sure it had gone farther. Katelyn had stayed over and was sleeping in her bed next to her. Sheena rolled over and reached for her cell phone to check if Caleb had gotten back to her after the message she left him the night before. There was nothing, frustrated she threw the phone on the floor it bounced across the carpet and hit the wall. She thought for sure that he would have at least gotten back to her. She had called the coach and talked to him, she told him everything about Isaiah she could without telling him about Caleb. Sheena was determined to get back at Isaiah for taking Caleb from her. She was sure that once they talked Caleb would come back to her anyway, but he needed to be taught a lesson. Sheena sat up and looked at Katelyn who was still fast asleep. She nudged Katelyn to try and wake her up. She had drunk far more then Sheena but often didn't get hung over. Sheena pushed on her again.

"Katelyn, get up," said Sheena, "I don't feel like sleeping the day away." Katelyn rolled over and looked at Sheena.

"Yes, you'd much rather be up and nursing your headache and upset stomach all day right." The sarcasm was prominent in Katelyn's voice as she sat up and stared at Sheena. Her hair was a mess flattened on one side seemingly sticking to her head. Katelyn perked her eyebrow up at Sheena. "Why are we getting up already?" Sheena crawled out of bed still wearing the same clothing from the night before. Katelyn watched as she walked over and picked up her phone. "I take it he didn't return your call?"

"No." Sheena looked at Katelyn and dropped her arms to her side. "I just don't see why he left me." Sheena held her phone up and looked at the screen again staring at it.

"You don't?" asked Katelyn sounding surprised. Sheena looked at her with a glare in her eye. "Um, yeah he's such an idiot." Katelyn felt the same way most people did about Sheena and Caleb's relationship. She would watch Sheena be nice to Caleb when she wanted something and then turn her anger on him the second he did something she didn't want him to do. "Don't worry Sheena, I'm sure he'll come around soon enough." Katelyn stood up from the bed, she too, was wearing her clothing from the night before. "So what did you wanna do today anyway?" she asked staring at Sheena still looking at the phone.

"Well I'm not sure but at some point today I think I should tell the guys about Isaiah," she said.

"Oh yeah I still can't believe that."

"Why not?" asked Sheena clearly irritated, "I'm pretty sure the others already know anyway. I'll just be confirming their suspicions."

"I hope that this isn't something you're just saying Sheena. That is something that could really damage someone's rep if it's not true. And if it is true then Isaiah is probably going to have to leave the football team, if not the school. Jonathan and the other idiots are going to make his life hell," explained Katelyn, "I hope you know what you're going to do to him if you do tell them." Sheena looked at Katelyn for a second her words were reaching her, she didn't want to hurt him if Caleb came back to her she would just drop the entire thing.

"Let's go eat."

Casey had been trying to get a hold of Isaiah since Saturday afternoon, he hadn't responded to her text messages, emails or her phone calls. She had concluded that he had either not been aloud to call her because of staying out at the party or he was avoiding her. She had decided to give up for the time being she sat in her room and looked around trying to decide what she was going to do with her time. It was only noon and it was Sunday, Strathecona didn't have much in the line of Sunday activities. Her phone beeped three times telling her that she had a text message. She quickly picked up the phone and looked at it expecting to see Isaiah's name flashing on the screen. It was Jonathan. _What are you doing?_ He had asked her in his usual straight to the point fashion. Casey began to type in her response hitting the numbers on the phone that represented the letters she was looking for. _Nothing yet, what are you up to?_ She responded. Casey hit send and watched the sending bar complete telling her that it was sent off. She waited a few minutes for his response when her phone beeped again. _I'm at Chris's, we're going to watch a game at one._ Casey looked at the message and was starting to wonder what the point of his messaging her was, it wasn't really like him to just look for conversation. _That's cool, is that all you wanted to tell me?_ Casey sent the message back to him, she thought about it again and realized what he was probably looking for. _Wanna go for a drive I have a few minutes?_ Casey let out a sigh almost being mad at herself for her impending reply, but she wanted to just as much as he did. Casey began typing back her reply. _Sure, where do you wanna go?_ Casey sat smiling about what was about to happen. _Doesn't matter. Talk about it when I get there. See you soon. Be right there._ Casey had already showered so there wasn't much for her to do to get ready. She stood up and headed outside to wait on her step, there was a spring breeze blowing the cool morning had turned into a warm day. Chris lived on the other side of the town, so Jonathan wouldn't be there for a few minutes at least. Casey looked around at the day. The early morning had been rather cold. The only reason she knew was because she had gotten up to take her Labrador retriever, Charlie, out to go pee. Now the weather had shifted to a nicer day the sun was high and the breeze was warm. Casey didn't realize how much time had past and Jonathan pulled in the yard in his red beat up station wagon. Casey walked down off the step and over to the car and smiled at him. Jonathan smiled at her and reached over and unlocked the car door. Casey sat down in the car.

"Hey," said Jonathan still smiling, "how'd you sleep?" Casey was caught off guard by the question, it wasn't very often that Jonathan would get personal in their encounters. It was always just sex and formalities.

"Pretty good," she said with the surprise clear in her voice, "you?"

"It was pretty good I guess. I thought about you." Jonathan reached over and put his hand on her leg. Casey realized that the smile Jonathan was carrying wasn't his usual horney smirk, it was a kind and caring look that she hadn't seen much lately. Casey couldn't help but feel something for him. It had been within her for awhile, but she didn't let anyone, including him, know about it. People would call her foolish considering the amount of people he had slept with, it had seemed like he had calmed down recently Casey was pretty sure that it was just her that he was sleeping with as of recent. Casey looked into his pretty blue eyes that seemed to be gazing at her. "Sorry."

"For what?" Casey asked.

"Not really sure. You just looked disturbed or something." Casey smiled and leaned in and kissed him. "I guess not."

"Where did you wanna go?" she asked.

"I figured we could just go to the spot." The spot was a place just outside of town and off a dirt road where a lot of teenagers would often go to hang out when they couldn't find a house to go to. Jonathan pulled out of the yard and started to drive, the spot wasn't far from their house.

"Okay," Casey paused, "How long do you have?"

"Not really worried about it. However long we need." As they drove Casey looked out the window at the passing scenery. As they got closer to their destination their surroundings became more wooded and the road they were on was getting rougher. "So did you get a hold of Isaiah?" Jonathan glanced at Casey as he drove then turned his attention back to the road.

"No not yet," she answered. "I think he might have gotten in trouble for being out all night the other night. Did he mention anything at practise this morning?"

"No." Jonathan shook his head. "He seemed fine today, even got there early." There was a short silence as they continued to drive the car slowing to adjust to the rough terrain of the old road. "Maybe he's avoiding you?" Until this point Casey had been surprised with Jonathan's attitude. He was starting to seem somewhat genuine in his conversation, but now he was trying to make her think more of her not being able to get a hold of Isaiah.

"I'm sure there's an explanation for it. He'll tell me all about it tonight." Casey reassured her confidence in Isaiah.

"You sound awfully sure," said Jonathan. "How do you know?"

"Just do, I'm sure you and Caleb must have the same confidence built up right. Doesn't matter what people watching think, it's what we know that counts," Casey explained, "Besides we talk every Sunday before we go to bed." The expression on Jonathan's face became unsure and he went back to focusing his attention on driving. They were literally seconds away from their destination and Casey couldn't help but read into Jonathan's expression. He and Caleb had been friends for years there was no way he couldn't know what she was talking about. Everyone had that person they went to with everything. The car pulled into a grass filled road that just looked like a clearing in the trees the small clearing was surrounded by a thick layer of bushes. Casey looked over at Jonathan who was looking at her smiling. "Let's do what we came here for." Casey leaned in to Jonathan and started to kiss him, she ran her hands down his face, neck and chest, and eventually stopping at the waistline of his pants. As she closed her eyes she could feel Jonathan's hand move down to her waistline and up her shirt, fondling her breasts.

"I want you," Jonathan whispered.

Isaiah and Caleb had been at the restaurant for a little over a half an hour. Isaiah wasn't used to the treatment they were receiving. When they first walked in the person at the door knew Caleb's name and brought them to a private booth in a room away from the crowded dining room. The waiter brought them their menu's and asked Caleb how his parents were doing and about who his new friend was. They also asked about Sheena, Caleb calmly explained that they had broken up and that she probably wouldn't be back at the restaurant with him again. The waiter stated that he would make note of it. They had just ordered their food. The kitchen was willing to make whatever Caleb felt like getting and he ordered a Cuban dish Isaiah wasn't familiar with. Isaiah had decided on a vegetarian stir fry. The small elaborately decorated room was quiet. The walls were decorated with several large and beautifully painted landscape paintings along with a couple of replicas. There was tiny display tables in each corner with a different kind of vase on it, each vase decorated differently. The booth itself was a black and red color scheme the cushioning on the seat was very comfortable but after looking at the place Isaiah didn't expect much less.

"Nice place, huh?" asked Caleb looking at Isaiah from across the table.

"Nice? That wouldn't be the word I'd pick to describe the place," said Isaiah still in awe over the treatment they were getting. "How long have you been coming here anyway? I've never seen anyone get treated like this before, from anywhere."

"My parents have been coming here since before I was born. I know it's weird, but I've partly grown up around these people." Caleb looked around the room briefly then returned his gaze to Isaiah. "My father searched for quite a while to find a place that would make authentic Cuban food. So, once he found it he just kept on coming here." Isaiah admired the decor of the room for a second having not noticed it before because of the way they were being treated. "Do you like it here?"

"It's a really wonderful place, that's for sure." Isaiah was felt that it was nice, but he was also having a tough time being treated so much differently than he was used to.

"But?" Caleb smiled and raised an eyebrow, having caught the uncertainty in Isaiah's voice. Isaiah looked at him for a second certainly not wanting to hurt Caleb's feelings, but also wanting to be honest with him.

"Well, isn't it all a bit excessive?" The look on Caleb's face quickly turned to confusion. "I would have been happy just to go to the coffee shop and grab a donut or something." Isaiah thought quickly to try and elaborate on what he meant. "I mean this is great, but I'm just not used to it." Caleb stayed silent obviously still not sure what Isaiah, who probably wasn't being as clear as he wanted, was trying to say. "Caleb, I don't care about how much money you have." Caleb smiled and looked away then back to him.

"I know that," he started, "and that makes me want to show you these things." Now Isaiah was confused he didn't really understand why that would be the effect. "I'm used to Sheena... she would make me bring her here at least once a week if she could get away with it. She used to take the credit card I have from my parents, without my permission. She'd want all the newest clothing and other stupid hollow stuff, you know," Caleb explained, "I guess it's just nice to be around someone who just doesn't care. I knew I didn't have to bring you here, I wanted to. Okay?" Caleb smiled at him.

"Okay." Isaiah smiled back refreshed that they had gotten that out of the way. A few quick minutes pass in silence. Isaiah took a sip from his water and thought about Caleb and Jonathan in the weight room earlier in the morning. "So, what was Jonathan so ticked off about this morning?" he asked.

"Oh, that?" Caleb rolled his eyes at the thought of the argument. "He was just ticked off because I didn't pick him up this morning." Isaiah looked at Caleb knowing that they had been going in early on Sunday's together since the season started. Caleb didn't seem like the type of person to just forget about someone like that.

"What was on your mind?" he asked plainly.

"Huh?" Caleb was confused that Isaiah had read him so easily.

"Something obviously had to be bugging you. I can't see you just forgetting about someone like that."

"Yeah I had a lot on my mind this morning." Caleb smiled at him. "I guess you just do that to me." Caleb didn't want Isaiah to worry about anything, so he kept the phone message from Sheena and the conversation with the coach to himself. The door to the room opened and their waiter walked in balancing a tray with their food on it. He stepped up to their table with a smile on his face.

"Here you go Caleb," he said placing Caleb's order in front of him. "And for you, Isaiah." The waiter placed Isaiah's stir fry in front of him.

"Thank you, Justin," Caleb smiled.

"You're welcome. Now is there anything else I can get you in the meantime?"

"No, thank you we're good for now."

"Alright then, let me know if you need anything just push the pager." Justin pointed to the small button on the wall reminding Caleb of its location, smiled and left the room. Isaiah looked at his plate, the dish was made up of a wide variety of vegetables with chunks of tofu on a bed of rice noodles with a sweet sauce. Isaiah wasn't completely a vegetarian, but he treated himself to it when he could. Originally planning to be a veterinarian when he was younger he didn't like the idea of factory farms. So he tried not to support them where he had the option as at home it was whatever his mother cooked he ate.

"This looks really good," he stated.

"Dig in." Caleb smiled and picked up his knife and fork, his plate was a chicken and vegetables mixture of sorts. Isaiah picked up his fork and took up some of the vegetables, tofu and noodles and took a bite. It was probably the best thing he had ever tasted. It certainly beat the microwavable vegetarian food his mom sometimes brought home from the market. "Is it good?"

"Yeah it's awesome." Caleb smiled and went back to his own dish. The two of them continued to eat in quiet until their food was gone. It was now around twelve o'clock and they would have to leave soon for Caleb to be back in town for the game with the others. "Should we get going soon, don't want you to miss your game," said Isaiah sarcastically but smiling.

"Ha ha, yeah I did say I'd be there didn't I," Caleb laughed. Justin walked in and over to the table smiling.

"Any desert for either of you, a coffee maybe?" he asked as he picked up their plates and stacked them together. Isaiah was full from the stir fry but looked at Caleb.

"No, I think we're good," Caleb answered taking the cue from Isaiah. "Just put the bill on the account we have to get going back to Strathecona."

"Okay Caleb, nice to see you as always, have a good day." Justin smiled at the two of them and left the room.

"Are you ready to go?" Caleb asked standing up and stretching his legs. Isaiah nodded and stood up with him.

"Yeah, let's go." The two of them walked out of the room and into the noisy restaurant. Isaiah found it hard to believe that the walls of the restaurant were so well insulated. There had to be close to one hundred people in the main dining room, but they never heard a word of them until they walked out of the room they were in. They walked through the dining room and Caleb nodded, smiling at several members of the staff they returned the smile. Isaiah just kept his head down as they headed out into the parking lot. "They all seem really nice."

"Yeah my parents spend sometimes thousands of dollars here in a month when they bring their clients here." Isaiah really had no idea what Caleb's parents did, but it sounded important. Isaiah couldn't remember seeing them at any of the games in the past. He had only seen his uncle on a few occasions. Caleb opened Isaiah's door for him then got up in the driver's seat. "You want me to take you home or did you wanna come over to Chris's with me?" Isaiah got up in the truck and looked at him for a second not wanting to go to Chris's house for what he thought were more than obvious reasons.

"Not really." Caleb turned on the truck and started driving out of the parking lot.

"Are you sure? I know you don't really get along with them, but you'll be with me. Might be a good chance to get in good with the team. Let them see you're not any different than the rest of us." Caleb smiled trying to reassure Isaiah that they might accept him, even if this was the case he wasn't ready for it.

"I think I better go home," said Isaiah. Caleb could tell Isaiah was getting anxious just talking about it deciding to drop the conversation. "I'm sorry." Isaiah spoke quietly feeling as though he had disappointed him.

"Nothing to be sorry for," Caleb reached over and put his hand on Isaiah's comforting him. "Just remember though, I'm not going to let them push you around anymore." Isaiah smiled at Caleb and squeezed his hand putting his fingers between Caleb's.

"You never did let them, remember?" Isaiah reminded, still smiling.

The drive home had passed quickly, Caleb pulled in Isaiah's driveway and parked the truck. They sat in silence for several long seconds both of them clearly not wanting their time together to end. Caleb looked at Isaiah waiting for him to make some kind of move that he was going to leave but really not wanting him to.

"Do you have to get going right away?" asked Isaiah.

"Well no." Caleb looked the clock on the dashboard of the truck that read one thirty. "I don't have to be there right away. I just have to show up." Isaiah opened the door to get out of the truck.

"Did you wanna come in for a bit?" asked Isaiah. Caleb glanced at the time once more then smiled and turned off the truck.

"Sure. As long as your mom doesn't mind."

"Don't worry she won't mind." Caleb got out of the truck and looked at the small house for a few seconds as Isaiah got out of the truck. Caleb uncharacteristically started to feel nervous about the situation feeling as though he had stepped outside of his comfort zone. Isaiah walked around the front of the truck and stood in front of him. "Are you okay?" he asked seeing the expression change in his face.

"Well..." Caleb paused, not ready to face his decision in the form of another person. "I don't know about going inside yet." Isaiah looked at Caleb confused not sure what he meant. "I mean... it's hard to explain but." Isaiah listened intently waiting for Caleb to finish his train of thought. "I know she knows about us already but... you know?" Caleb watched closely at Isaiah's facial expression hoping he wouldn't be mad. "If you're mad at me I'll understand."

"I'm not mad," said Isaiah being truthful. He knew that it was going to be something that Caleb had a hard time with. He was happy that everything had gone smoothly this far. "We don't have to go inside. Let's just go sit on the step out back for a bit." Caleb smiled, and they headed around the back of the house on the patio.

"I'll get there," said Caleb, "I want to, promise." The two of them sat on the steps side by side.

"It's okay. We have lots of time right." Isaiah laughed quietly and pushed up against him. Caleb laughed with him and pushed back. "I'm glad we got to hang out today."

"Me too. It was fun to go to a restaurant with someone I asked to go with instead of someone who made me take them."

"Why on earth did you stay with her for so long Caleb?" Isaiah looked at Caleb waiting for a response.

"I don't know, I guess I just had to realize what was better for me." Isaiah laid his head on Caleb's shoulder. Isaiah's house was in front of a large field full of trees, there were other houses in the area, but Caleb was confident that no one else could see them where they were sitting. Caleb rested his cheek on Isaiah's head and closed his eyes listening to their surroundings. He could feel the wind blowing through his hair, he exhaled and relaxed taking in the calm day and the warm sun. He could hear the wind rustling in the trees that lined the property just as he could feel Isaiah take his hand. The two of them sat with their eyes closed in the quiet keeping the mood. Caleb knew that he would have to leave soon but didn't want to. He wasn't really feeling like spending his afternoon listening to the other guys and watching a game he really didn't care to see.

Jonathan and Casey had finished what they went to do, it had been about an hour and Jonathan was driving Casey back to her house. The two of them were quiet recuperating from their sexual encounter in silence. Jonathan thought to himself that this had been the most intense sex that they had, and he wasn't sure how to express himself about it. He went in just looking for a quickie, but he was starting to feel something for Casey that he wasn't ready to admit to himself. Jonathan didn't want a relationship with anyone let alone the girl the other guys teased him for. He usually had a rule he went by where as soon as feelings started to get involved he dropped out of the arrangement. Usually it wasn't him that had the feelings though this is where he got his reputation from. They took a turn on the street Isaiah lived on which was adjoining Casey's street. They drove down the street passing Isaiah's house, Jonathan noticed the white truck in the yard.

"What the heck?"

"What?" Casey leaned forward in her seat and looked at him with a confused look on her face.

"Does Isaiah's father drive a white truck?" asked Jonathan.

"Um no. His dad died when he was like three." Jonathan went quiet clearly uncomfortable hearing that someone he tormented was in such a situation.

"Oh," he said awkwardly, "Then that must be Caleb's truck then." Jonathan looked back at the truck in his rear-view mirror and could see the truck in full knowing it was Caleb's.

"So what if it is? Maybe they're starting to be friends. Caleb has always been nice to him," said Casey not seeing what the issue was.

"You say that like there's nothing wrong with it. I think Isaiah's trying to convert him or something and I don't like it."

"Why is that your business?" Casey laughed blatantly.

"Caleb's my best friend and he just broke up with his girlfriend of three years. He's in a bad state, he's just not letting anyone see it. He loved that girl as much of a bitch she was to him," explained Jonathan sure what he was saying was the way it was. The car turned on to Casey's street and into her yard seconds after.

"Just leave it alone, it might be good for Caleb to get a fresh point of view on his situation," said Casey.

"Whatever that faggot better not..."

"Hey that's my best friend you're talking about," Casey interrupted angrily. "I'm going to get out now before you disgust me to the point that I never wanna speak to you again because I'm already getting pretty close to it." Casey abruptly got out of the car and slammed the door causing to Jonathan to flinch at the banging noise. Jonathan laid on the horn letting her know he was angry and backed the car out of the yard quickly. Jonathan had his mind made up that he was going to go back and see why Caleb was there. He took the turn back onto the street Isaiah lived on and slowed down as he came up on his driveway, but the truck was already gone.

The rest of the day past slowly and Isaiah found himself in his room getting his books ready for Monday classes. It had been the best weekend he had probably ever and was sad to see it go but he knew it wouldn't be the last of its kind. He pushed his history text book into his back pack and sat it down on the floor by his bed. It was roughly eight o'clock and he and Casey hadn't talked since Saturday. He hadn't really wanted to talk to her until now after processing what happened over the weekend. Isaiah took his cell phone out of his pocket and flipped it open. He looked through his phonebook on the phone and selected her number and pushed the call button. He put the phone to his ear.

"Bout goddamn time!" yelled Casey, the phone didn't have enough time to ring more than once before she picked up. "Why didn't you call me yesterday?"

"Yeah sorry, I just had a lot on my mind." Isaiah couldn't help but laugh a little bit at the sound of urgency in her voice. He knew it was killing her not knowing what had gone on. "I had to take some time and think about stuff you know?"

"That good huh?" she said sarcastically. "You dog you! So how did it go?" Casey laughed. Isaiah thought for a moment on how to word the answer to the question she was asking.

"Um, well, how did it look like it went?" he asked feeling as though he sounded stupid.

"It looks like you have him eating out of the palm of your hand." Isaiah couldn't help but feel slightly offended, she made it sound like he was being like Sheena.

"It's not even like that, we didn't really do anything sexual we just talked and kissed a lot," Isaiah explained, "He's felt the same way about me since he saw me try out for the team."

"Wait, back up a bit," said Casey shocked. This situation was something Isaiah had wanted to find himself in since junior high school, she found it hard to believe that he passed it up. "You didn't do anything sexual? Why not?" she asked confused, "The gold was right there in front of you and you looked the other way?" Isaiah could understand Casey's confusion, he had been madly in love with Caleb for what seemed like forever and was sexually attracted to him beyond belief.

"Casey it's not just about sex and besides Caleb was drunk that night," he explained, "He said that once we did anything he wanted to be able to remember everything." Isaiah knew what question was coming next.

"How do you know what he said wasn't just 'drunk talk', then?" Casey knew she was asking an obvious question but was concerned, she didn't want her friend to end up hurt by some jock.

"If you could have seen the look on his face, you would understand. Once said that to me everything just came together. All the awkward stares and smiles, the times he stuck up for me. It all just fit." Isaiah paused and waited for her to respond before continuing. "If it means anything, him and Sheena are through."

"I heard from Jonathan, why?"

"She walked in and saw us kissing and she freaked."

"That's too funny," Casey laughed, "but won't she tell everyone?"

"Caleb thinks he managed to talk her out of it but I guess only time will tell." Isaiah didn't want to think about everyone finding out about him and Caleb and decided to shift the conversation. "How about we talk about you and Jonathan now?"

"What about us?" asked Casey sounding defensive.

"Well judging by the other night, seems like it's not just a one-time thing anymore." Isaiah sounded accusing on purpose he didn't like the idea of his bully and his best friend being together.

"Well, so it seems," said Casey sounding unsure, "I guess he's getting to the point that he doesn't just want sex anymore."

"Hey, you're always going on about how hot he is, but is that what you really want?" asked Isaiah, "He's probably not going to go far in life. I mean, all he does is play football and party, right?"

"Well yeah, but look at where foot ball is taking Caleb, and where it could be taking you if you tried hard at it – but you have your marks to get you the scholarships," said Casey defending him.

"Yeah, Jonathan's got one or two things. I just don't think he could handle the whole university thing, right." Isaiah was starting to be out right mean in the things he was saying and Casey didn't like it but couldn't blame him after the way Jonathan treated him.

"Isaiah, you have to give people a chance."

"Sometimes, yeah," said Isaiah nonchalantly. It was clear that the both of them had enough of the topic at hand.

"So, what are you doing later?"

"Well, not really much." Isaiah looked at his clock it was already late. "It's already almost time for bed. School tomorrow, remember." Isaiah picked up his alarm clock and fidgeted with it to make sure it was set properly.

"Of course I do, but what are you, seventy? I don't go to bed at ten thirty."

"You also didn't run several miles today."

"Hey," Casey laughed, "is that a fat joke?"

"Not if you don't want it to be," Isaiah laughed with her.

"Nah, I'm just kidding. I'll let you go for now and see you on the bus tomorrow."

"Okay, sounds good. See you then." Isaiah snapped his phone shut and laid back on his bed relieved that the conversation was over with. Casey could sometimes be a little overwhelming when it came to certain topics Caleb and Jonathan both being their own topic. He took a deep breath and exhaled as he closed his eyes imagining what school was going to be like tomorrow deciding it best to avoid Sheena at any cost. He didn't need a confrontation with her. He wasn't sure if he was going to be able to talk to Caleb at school or how they were going to handle their situation but he couldn't wait to see him again.

It was around eight thirty and Caleb had gotten home just over an hour ago, the rest of the day went just as he thought it would likely go. They sat and watched the game, the other team won and then they sat around and complained about what they did wrong or what the coach did wrong for an hour, eating pizza. Caleb was sitting on his computer, doing something he did frequently, chatting on the internet. The internet was a good outlet for Caleb, he felt he could talk to most of the people there and not worry about being judged. He had made a couple of friends from chat rooms that he would talk to online. Most of them were friends from larger cities, he had never been able to meet anyone from Strathecona. He had talked to several in the surrounding cities he had a few he talked to regularly. Mostly they were only interested in a sexual encounter and they were usually closer to his father's age or they were married. Caleb could understand that there were people out there that didn't realize their feelings as soon as he did. Or that some people felt that they couldn't act on it for other reasons, but didn't like the constant harassment he would get once he announced himself to be a football player. He was very careful not to tell people a lot of information about himself and he didn't have pictures of himself anywhere online. When he was fifteen he had told a friend who he was online and given him a picture of him after only talking for a few weeks. The person turned out to be a thirty five year old man and he showed up at three of Caleb's games following their conversation. Even after Caleb expressed his discomfort with it and his fears the person didn't care about it, he eventually had to threaten the guy with going to the authorities to get him away from him. He still talked to some people but it was strictly platonic conversation, he only considered the one or two people he talked to from the city to be actual friends. An instant message window popped up on his screen just as he signed into his MSN. It was his friend from Toronto, Ryan. _Hey what's up?_ This person was someone who Caleb felt comfortable telling everything to. He knew that Caleb had been with Sheena but was interested in guys. _Well I broke up with my girlfriend._ Caleb typed back to him. _Awe, I'm sorry to hear that are you okay?_ Caleb smiled to himself at the sympathy knowing full well that this person couldn't stand Sheena based on what he had told him and was probably jumping around his living room with joy. _Yeah I'm alright ... I found someone new._ Caleb finished the thought with a smiley face emoticon. There was a bit of a delay and Caleb wasn't really sure what to expect from the person. _Well that's good, I'm happy for you. Hopefully this one will treat you better but I hope you don't keep lying to yourself for too long babe, you know how those people turn out._ Ryan was in his early twenties, he and Caleb shared their experiences including Caleb's run in with the older man when he was younger. _Um actually it's Isaiah._ Caleb responded. Caleb had talked to Ryan a lot about Isaiah and Ryan had been encouraging him just to talk to him about it. _Oh my god really? I'm so happy for you. You were finally able to talk to him about everything then?_ Caleb couldn't help but smile as he typed about his current situation with Isaiah. _Yeah we talked on Friday night, we won our game so we had a victory party and he actually came over. He actually felt the same way all this time that I did, but even longer._ Caleb hit enter to send the message but kept typing. _I'm so happy right now I can't even put it into words, everything just seems so perfect you know? I just feel so free now._ Caleb typed quickly and hit enter sending the message. It was only a few seconds before Ryan's words popped up on the screen. _I'm really glad you finally got through this Caleb. I must admit after some of our talks I was really starting to worry about you. I thought that sometimes I was going to see you on the news talking about a teenage suicide or something._ Caleb was surprised at Ryan's words he had never really felt that way before and didn't think that he had projected that feeling in their conversation. _Nah, that'll never be me._ Just as Caleb hit the enter button on the computer he heard his phone go off having received a text message. _Hey I'm gonna get off of here for now so I will talk to you later._

Caleb signed out of his MSN and walked over to get his phone from his duffel bag. He knelt down and picked up the phone and looked at the face. It displayed that he had one new text message from Sheena. Caleb felt a sinking feeling in his chest and swallowed hard before he opened the text message as he sat on the bed. _Can we talk?_ Caleb let out a sigh in frustration as he typed up a response to her on the phone. _Maybe. What about?_ Caleb was going to be as brief as he could with her not really wanting to get into anything with her. The phone bleeped again signifying her response which only took seconds to come back to him. _Us? I'm sorry._ Caleb was caught off guard not really sure what to say to her. _Um, okay._ He responded back to her. _Can we meet?_ Caleb really didn't want to but decided he would at least hear what she had to say not wanting to upset her anymore at this point. _Where?_ He texted her back quickly just wanting to get it over with. _How about the field?_ The field was somewhere that Caleb used to take Sheena when they first got together so that they could be alone together. They hadn't been there in a long time as she would often get mad about going there with him now that they were able to get alone time in other places. She thought it was stupid and pointless but Caleb liked the quiet and being able to look up at the stars at night he found it romantic just being there. He was unsure about what to do but he had to type back something. _Alright. Be there in ten._ Caleb hit the send button and stood up.

"Here goes nothing." Caleb talked to himself as he stood up from his bed and headed downstairs and out to the truck. Caesar had left already and his parents were still gone leaving him to be the only one in the house again.

Sheena got Caleb's response quickly which must have meant he was just as happy to get to talk to her as she was to talk to him. Sheena jumped off her bed and ran downstairs her mother was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a glass of wine as she grabbed the keys from the table.

"Where are you going at this hour?" asked Norma.

"I have to go talk to Caleb," said Sheena hoping not to get much of a response out of her.

"You can't wait until tomorrow at school to talk him?"

"No mom we won't be able to get any time alone at school tomorrow." Sheena started to put on her shoes.

"You know this is your fault, if you treated him better and maybe cut down on the drugs. His uncle told me about the pot they found in his drawer, you know as well as I do that he doesn't do any drugs," Norma ranted.

"Alright mom, I get it." Sheena let out a sigh of frustration and stepped out of the house. She walked over to her mother's car and got in. Sheena couldn't help but be excited, Caleb's text messages sounded like he was willing to try and work on their relationship. She pulled out of the yard trying not to speed, she didn't want to get there too early so she didn't appear desperate. It had been a long time since the two of them had been to the field, she had been there once since her and Caleb had gone together. She and Caleb had had a brief period of separation and she had taken Chris there once. Caleb never found out about her and Chris and now that they were separated again if they didn't end up together again then she would most likely end up with Chris. Chris was the next best thing to Caleb, he was attractive, came from a rich family and he too had a bright future. Sheena was almost there the sun was only minutes from setting, she hoped that it would affect Caleb's attitude maybe making him more open to her. He was romantic like that and she had banked on it before, she hoped it would work again.

Caleb pulled into the field the sun was well on its way to setting and Sheena was nowhere to be found. It might have been romantic if he wasn't so tense about seeing Sheena. He wasn't surprised that she wasn't there. Sheena was never on time for anything that they made an appointment for. He put the truck in park and got out he took a look around. He was glad to be back in the field the foliage seemed to be in full bloom and the wind blew across the flat area freely. The scenery helped calm him, something he was most likely going to need it after this ordeal was over. Caleb could hear a car coming and leaned against his truck staring at his feet. Sheena pulled up next to him in her mothers sedan Caleb could see the smile on her face.

"I'm sorry," she said getting out of the car with an apologetic tone. "My mother was freaking about me leaving so late. I didn't have much choice but to tell her about us," she ranted, "And, of course, once she found out, you know how she gets. Then she went into why you were mad and it must of been my fault. I just told her that we got into an argument about the party the other night. And of course, then she brought up the weed I left in your drawer and that I should be cutting down on the pot..." Caleb had enough of listening to her he wanted this whole thing to be over, already not able to stand the sound of her voice.

"... Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?" he asked interrupting her with impatience coming out in his tone. Caleb put his foot up on the tire of the truck in an effort to convey his impatience in case she wasn't hearing it in his voice.

"I know. I'm sorry," Sheena shook her head and lit up a cigarette she got from her purse. "Caleb I just wanted to say I'm sorry." Sheena paused waiting for some kind of reaction from him before deciding to continue. "I love you, Caleb, and I just want you back. I don't want us to end like this," she pleaded. "Over something so stupid."

"Sheena, you told the coach you saw Isaiah kissing a guy," Caleb was blatantly angry at her and wanted her to know. "You told me you weren't gonna tell anyone."

"Caleb, I..." Sheena had a look of surprise on her face. Caleb looked at her he couldn't believe that she was acting like she never said anything about it.

"... You "what"? The coach didn't need to know anything about this. You just did it to scare me." Sheena could tell this wasn't going the way she had planned it to and wasn't sure how it was going to end.

"I'm sorry, Caleb. I don't know why I did it. Before now, I've had no reason not to like Isaiah." Sheena tried to keep her tone calm and sympathetic. "He was one of my favourite guys on the team."

"Mine too." Caleb smiled at her and Sheena looked back at him with shock in her eyes clearly not expecting him to be so bold.

"What?" she asked shocked. Caleb let out a sigh.

"Sheena, there is no point to this..." Caleb stood up straight and walked over to the truck door when she grabbed him by the arm.

"Wait, please," she begged. Caleb stopped and turned to look at her. "I know this thing with Isaiah was just you trying something out, and that's cool. Just so long as he knows that we can go back to the way things were." Caleb held back a laugh and cut his eyes at her.

"Sheena, what makes you think I would want to go back to the way things were?" Caleb started to tear up as he spoke his frustration bring him to tears. "You know I loved you, but I meant what I said to you yesterday. I'm so sick of being treated like your prize to show off to all of your friends," he cried. Sheena watched him breaking down and started to cry with him. "Then, the second I open my mouth, it doesn't matter what I'm saying. As long as I'm the one saying it, it must be stupid." Caleb wiped his eyes with his sleeve and tried to pull himself together. He was mad and felt as though he was through shedding tears over her but it was really hurting.

"Caleb, I know I'm not perfect and I'm sorry if I like to the world know that my boyfriend is hot and I'm attracted to him. I just love you so much." She wrapped her arms around him, Caleb kept silent and didn't respond to her hug. "You can't even say it, can you?"

"What, Sheena?" he asked quietly. Sheena looked up at him still keeping her arms around him.

"I'm losing you, Caleb," she cried, "You can't say you love me anymore."

"Sheena," said Caleb pulling out of her hug, "you lost me a long time ago."

"You're right." Sheena looked at him shocked as she stepped back. "The real Caleb is gone and all that's left is some faggot!" she screamed. Caleb watched as Sheena quickly got into her car and slammed the door. She started the car and squealed out of the field, spraying him with dirt. Sheena drove out of site Caleb could hear her car leaving the area.

"Fuck!" Sheena screamed. She pulled the car over roughly a mile up the road. She hit the steering wheel as hard as she could causing the horn to go off. For once in their relationship Sheena felt like she had completely lost control, she had to do something about Isaiah there was no other foreseeable way for her to end this foolishness and be back with Caleb. "I fucking hate you!" She wasn't sure at this point what she was going to do but she was going to start by talking to Jonathan. She knew how much he hated him and was looking for any reason to lash out at him.

Caleb sat in his truck for a few minutes trying to hold in his emotions but at the same time wanting to break out crying. He leaned his head back on the seat and looked up, his breathing was erratic he felt like he was taking a panic attack. Caleb couldn't hold it in anymore and he burst out into tears crying out loudly. He had never been so upset before over anything let alone to the point that he cried. Caleb couldn't control himself and knowing that he was going to have to go home to an empty house didn't help him any. He took his cell phone from his pocket and texted Isaiah. _Can I come over for a few minutes?_ He sent the message and waited what seemed like an eternity to get something back from him, hoping that he wasn't already in bed.

"Oh come on please just be there," cried Caleb not wanting to go back to his house in this condition alone. Caleb looked at his phone again hoping for it to beep soon but there was nothing coming. He threw the phone on the floor of the passenger side and leaned forward on the steering wheel crossing his arms he rested his head on his forearms. It was getting dark out but Caleb didn't want to drive back yet. The sun had completely set and the moon and stars were the only light to go by. He sat in silence watching his tears fall to the steering wheel the only sound was the occasional sniffle until his phone finally went off. He scattered for the phone quickly grabbing it off the floor. _Yes, of course you can._ The message was flashing on the screen of the phone from Isaiah. _I'll be right over._ Caleb quickly texted him back and sent off the message. He started the truck and quickly pulled out of the field Isaiah's house wasn't too far from where he was.

Isaiah had been sitting on his bed dozing when he had gotten the text from Caleb, he wasn't really sure why Caleb was coming over again. He got up off of his bed and threw on his jogging pants and a hoodie the night air was a bit cold and he didn't feel like catching a cold. He walked out into the kitchen Carla was sitting at the kitchen table reading a magazine. She looked up at him from her reading, it was unusual for him to be going out late on a Sunday night.

"Where are you going, it's late," she asked concerned. Isaiah walked over to the foyer and put his sneakers on.

"I'm just going outside, Caleb is coming over for a few minutes," said Isaiah bending over to tie his sneakers.

"Is he okay?"

"I don't know, he just texted me a minute ago." Carla stood up and walked over to the kitchen sink dropping in a plate and a glass. "I won't be out long. I'm not even leaving the yard." Carla smiled and nodded as Isaiah walked outside, he had built up a lot of trust with his mother over the years and for the most part she let him do what he wanted to. It wasn't long before Isaiah could see Caleb's truck pulling onto the road. He walked down off the step and stood by his mother's car still trying to figure out what was going on. The truck drove up the street and pulled in the yard. Isaiah couldn't see inside on the count that it was so dark he walked over to the driver's side and Caleb rolled down his window. "Hey what's up?" Isaiah greeted him with a smile before quickly realizing that something was wrong. "Have you been crying what's wrong?"

"Can you get in?" Caleb whined quietly. Not even thinking Isaiah ran around to the other side of the truck and jumped in the passenger's seat. "I'm sorry to come over so late but I didn't want to go back to my house like this."

"What happened?" Isaiah slid over to the middle seat and Caleb shut the truck off and looked over at him. Isaiah could see a tear streaked face looking back him that was only lit up by the moonlight.

"I went to talk to Sheena." Caleb paused, "She just makes me so damn mad. I just think of all the crap I put up with because of her. I just held in how I felt about it for so long and it hit me all at once." Isaiah hugged Caleb and held onto him tightly trying to comfort him only imagining what he must be feeling.

"It's okay to cry about it. Only I'm going to know about it," Isaiah whispered in Caleb's ear. Isaiah kissed Caleb on the cheek feeling the wetness of a tear. Caleb hugged Isaiah back clearly comforted by him.

"Thank you," he whispered. "I just didn't want to cry alone. My house is so lonely right now. Caesar's out and my parents aren't back yet." Isaiah pulled back from the hug slowly and looked at him. He gently brushed the side of Caleb's face with his hand wiping away a tear.

"You're so beautiful," Isaiah whispered. Caleb smiled at him and looked away embarrassed. "I'm sorry." Isaiah put his hand on Caleb's face and got him to look at him, Isaiah gazed into his eyes and moved in to a slow kiss, their lips touching briefly.

"I just wanted to be near you," Caleb whispered as he pulled from the kiss just long enough to speak. Isaiah brought his other hand up to Caleb's face and caressed him. "I'm so glad I'm with you." Caleb rubbed his hand through Isaiah's hair.

"I am too." Isaiah looked up on the step to see his mother standing in the doorway. "I think I need to go though. Are you going to be okay, I'll tell her I need a few more minutes if you need me to?" Caleb nodded and let out a breath then kissed him one more time. They didn't say much but just being able to see Isaiah and kiss him once was enough for him to feel better about everything. Sheena didn't matter anymore he was through with her and everything that came with her.

"I'm okay. Go ahead."

It was almost ten o'clock and Jonathan, Andrew, Chris and Mike were in Jonathan's bedroom smoking pot. His parents had gone out of town and the four of them had landed there after the game was done. The four of them sat on the old furniture with Jonathan's old radio playing some death metal music at low volume. They were sitting around talking about the party and getting high.

"So that was some friggen sweet party at Caleb's place, eh?" said Mike taking a puff off of the joint and passing it to Chris.

"Yeah man." Chris took a large puff from the joint and held the smoke in his lungs. "Always are though, right?" Chris coughed and exhaled the smoke. "I don't think Caleb had too much fun though. He was pretty pissed by the end of the night with his bitch." Chris passed the joint to Andrew who was sitting next to him.

"Yeah, he really had a rough one. He and Sheena are pretty much broken up now," explained Jonathan.

"Sah-weet. I've been wanting a piece of that for a while now. Think he'd mind?" laughed Chris. Jonathan looked at Chris and shook his head.

"Man, I'm not sure. Hard to say, but if he doesn't care..." Jonathan let out a sigh. "I'm warning you, that bitch is half crazy." Andrew passed the joint to Jonathan after exhaling a large puff of smoke. Jonathan followed suit and took a drag from it.

"I don't care how crazy she is, I just wanna plough her," Chris laughed again clearly high from the marijuana. "Other than that, she can go to hell." Andrew looked at Chris with a half concerned look on his face.

"I think she'd go even crazier if she was just a fuck and chuck."

"Guess I'll have to find out then, won't I?" Chris smiled as Jonathan's cell phone started to ring.

"Who the hell's that?" Jonathan paused as he took the phone from his pocket and looked at the screen. "Speak of the devil." Jonathan clicked the answer button and took a deep drag off the joint before giving it to Mike and putting the phone to his ear. "What do you want?" Jonathan paused the others were quiet trying to hear what she was saying but only catching the odd word in and out. "Mmhmm." Jonathan had little patience with Sheena and now that she wasn't dating Caleb he didn't have to be nice to her. He had no problem letting her know. "Okay, yup. Yeah go ahead, but keep in mind, I don't have to be nice to you anymore."

"Sweet," whispered Chris excited and assuming the Sheena would be coming over.

"Okay, I'll see you when you get here, then." Jonathan hung up his phone and put it back in his pocket. "Yeah, Sheena's coming over."

"What for?" asked Mike sounding irritated.

"She said that she wants to talk to me about something." Jonathan shrugged not really knowing what Sheena would have to talk to him about considering they all but hated each other.

"Did she say what about?" inquired Andrew with a confused look on his face.

"No clue. Something about the party the other night, though."

"Man, that's weird," Andrew took a deep drag off the joint and started coughing. "Maybe she wants you to put in a good word so she can get back with Caleb."

"If that's the case, then she's really talking to the wrong person! I don't want them back together," snapped Jonathan. "I'm sick of putting up with her crap."

"Well, you know my thoughts on the situation." Chris sat back in his seat as Andrew passed the joint to him. "Should we take off?" He took another drag from the joint and it went out.

"No, man. Whatever she wants to say, she can tell all of us." The sound of a car pulling in the yard could be heard through the open window above their heads. Jonathan stepped up and balanced himself on the back of the couch to look out the window. "Yeah, it's her. Here we go. Be right back." Jonathan jumped down from the couch and walked upstairs to let Sheena in. He opened the front door and she walked in. "Hey what's up?" he asked.

"Not much," she answered, "and a whole lot at the same time." Jonathan started back downstairs and Sheena followed behind him.

"Yeah, I heard a little about it, I think."

"From who?" Sheena sounded surprised.

"I was talking about you and Caleb breaking it off." Jonathan stopped and looked back at her with a confused look on his face.

"Yeah? That's not what I'm here about, though." The two of them walked in to Jonathan's room and Sheena sat down on the couch next to Chris with her legs crossed. "Hey boys," she said casually.

"Hey," said Chris. Mike and Andrew nodded in acknowledgement at her.

"So, what did you want to tell us anyway?" asked Jonathan already getting impatient with her.

"So, have you guys been talking to Caleb?" Sheena seemingly ignored Jonathan all together.

"We saw him at practice today," explained Chris, "Why?"

"Just curious," said Sheena nonchalantly, "I take it you guys all know about our little situation then?"

"Yeah, sorry to hear about it." Mike didn't really care but he was trying to sound sympathetic. "How you feelin?"

"I'm fine," Sheena rolled her eyes and spoke sarcastically, "and just so you guys know, you don't have to pretend you like me because I know you hate me just as much now as you did before."

"Thank god," said Andrew and Mike in unison with relief in their tone.

"Assholes." Sheena turned her head and lit a cigarette. Chris sat forward with a smile on his face.

"Notice I didn't say anything?"

"Kay, Sheena get to the point." Jonathan wasn't in the mood to listen to her any longer then he had to. "What did you come to tell us?"

"Alright, whatever." Sheena took a drag from her cigarette and flicked the ash on the floor rubbing it out with her foot. "Anyway, so Isaiah was at the party the other night..."

"Yeah, we were talking to him," said Mike confused.

"Well, before I left I saw him kissing some guy upstairs in the guest room." Sheena watched as her lie took effect immediately in the faces of the four guys as the disgust was quickly evident in their facial expression.

"Awe, man, sick," scoffed Andrew.

"Who the heck was it?" asked Chris the look of disgust clearly in his face.

"I don't know who. It was someone from out of town. I've never seen him around here before." Sheena knew she would have to make someone up for it to be believable, there was no one in town she could pin it on.

"So why are you telling us this?" asked Mike not really seeing the point in her telling them.

"Man, I friggin knew it." Sheena seeing Isaiah kissing another guy was just what Jonathan would need to confirm everything he ever thought about Isaiah. There was no way he was going to let him off with it. "God, that faggot ... and he gets in the shower with us every game and practice." Jonathan had just provided Sheena with her reason so she went along with it as he spoke.

"That's why I'm telling you guys he's a fag. I didn't think you would want to have him around the showers anymore.

"I'm so gonna kick his fucking ass, man. I knew I seen him looking at me."

"Don't tell anyone that you know because, if you do something to him then they'll know you did it." As much as Jonathan didn't want to admit it, she was right, if they started running their mouths about it then people would suspect them if something happened to him.

"We'll keep our mouths shut for now but I'm gonna do more to that son of a bitch than just kick his ass!"

"Well, I just wanted to warn you guys about him." Sheena stood up to leave. "I think it's disgusting. He has Caleb fooled too. They're getting really close. He spent the night with him the other night after the party." Mike still didn't seem to be buying the story, Sheena had been hanging off Caleb the entire night at the party and didn't see how it was possible for her to have seen what she was claiming.

"So, let me get this straight. You saw Isaiah kissing some guy at the party?" he asked replaying her words in his head. "Do you know who it was?"

"No," she snapped angrily, "I told you he was from out of town or a different school or something. What does it matter, anyway? We need to let him know that we don't want him here." Sheena took one last puff off of her cigarette and threw put it out in the ashtray on the table. "We'll talk more later. For now I have more important people to entertain." Sheena smiled at Chris and headed out of the room and then upstairs and out to her car. Their reaction was just what she had been hoping for. There was no way they were going to go to another practice or game with Isaiah still on the team.


	6. Chapter 6: The First Time

Caleb opened his eyes to his alarm clock sounding. It was six thirty and he had planned to get up early enough to catch Isaiah at home before he got on the bus. He reached over and shut his alarm off and sat up. He looked around his room, the sun wasn't fully up yet so it was still fairly dark as he sat his feet on the floor. He stood up and walked into the closet to decide what he was going to wear, he had a feeling that it wasn't going to be just a normal day so he wanted to dress up a bit. He grabbed one of his tighter fitting black tee's and a red button up to wear over it, he then took his vintage black jeans down off the hanger. Caleb took his underwear and socks from a small dresser in the corner of his closet and headed out into the bathroom. The house was quiet and still empty, his parents would be back later in the night. Caleb walked into the bathroom and turned the water on in the shower to get it warmed up. He looked in the mirror making sure he didn't need to shave, something he didn't really like doing, thankfully his facial hair didn't grow that fast. On average he would probably only have to shave once or twice a week. Satisfied that he could leave it for another day or two he turned his attention to the shower that had started to steam. Caleb took off the boxers that he slept in and dropped them on the floor. He stepped into the shower the hot water hit his skin causing him to flinch, the water being hotter than he had expected. Caleb turned on the cold water to adjust the temperature and went about getting cleaned up. Getting lost in his showering routine of washing his hair and lathering his body with the body wash he used his mind turned to Isaiah. He wanted to see the look on his face when he realised that he was there to take him to school. Caleb did worry about what people would think but he was going to put it out of his mind for the time being. He continued to lather and wash himself with his hands, the water caressing his body and sending the invigoration through him that someone got from a morning shower. Caleb did one final rinse of his hair and turned off the water in the shower. He stood staring at the water as it ran down the drain and the remaining drops on his skin dripped from his hair and face. As he stared Caleb began thinking about he and Isaiah's encounter in the bathroom at the gym. He had been annoyed that they couldn't finish but also because Isaiah had only had the chance to perform on him and he didn't want him to think that he was selfish that way. Caleb closed his eyes as he remembered the feeling of Isaiah's mouth on his body and how warm it had been. The thought of it excited him, without realizing it Caleb began to run his hand down his chest and stomach. Caleb ran his hand down and took hold of himself realizing he was fully erect. Caleb opened his eyes and looked down at himself cursing himself for the thoughts, if he went through with what his body planned he wouldn't be at Isaiah's in time to catch him. Caleb let out a frustrated sigh fully wanting to relieve himself but got out of the shower and quickly started to dry off. Caleb quickly dressed himself throwing on the clothing he had picked out but also making sure that his look didn't look rushed. He placed on the red over shirt and left it hanging open and grabbed his hair gel off of the counter and squeezed some of the contents into his hand. This was a routine he could almost do in his sleep he had done it so often every morning. He spiked his hair to the side as he had seen a teen heart-throb do on television and rinsed his hands under the water. Caleb would usually spend about twenty minutes after his shower applying lotions and creams to the various parts of his body to maintain his skin but didn't have the time. He ran out of the bathroom and grabbed his book bag from his room then headed downstairs. Caleb decided that he would take his breakfast on the go and popped some bread in the toaster. He scattered around the house looking for where he had left his keys and made sure he had his cell phone, finally finding both in the living room on the table. As he picked it up he heard the toaster pop up with his bread toasted. Caleb returned to the kitchen and grabbed some peanut butter out of the cupboard and quickly applied it to the toast taking a bite of it immediately as he closed the container of peanut butter and left it on the counter. He ran out of the house making sure to lock the door behind him and got in his truck to start on his way there.

It was quarter after seven and Isaiah had just gotten out of the shower, his bus would be there by eight and he wasn't looking forward to the day. He could hear his mother moving around in the kitchen getting ready for work, the grocery store opened at nine so she would have to be there for eight. Isaiah had the radio playing in the background and he sang to himself. The random rock song that was playing was one of his favourite songs. He wiped the mirror with his towel leaving a streaking pattern in the steam. He started to dry off with his towel when there was a knock at the door startled Isaiah wrapped the towel around himself.

"Isaiah, Caleb is here!" Carla called in from the other side of the door.

"Caleb?" Isaiah was surprised not expecting to see him until after classes were over.

"Yeah, he's your team captain, isn't he?" Isaiah realised that though Carla had seen him outside through the living room window that they hadn't been formerly introduced and she may not have realised who Caleb was to meet him.

"Yeah," Isaiah answered almost spacing out not sure what to say.

"Well, should I invite him in, then?" asked Carla sounding impatient.

"Yeah, let him in, Mom." Isaiah secured the towel around his waist as he spoke.

"Okay." Isaiah could hear Carla's footsteps leading her back into the kitchen and heard the door open. Isaiah looked in the mirror and tried to make his hair look presentable worried about what Caleb would think of him. Shortly there was a knock at the door Isaiah had assumed it was Caleb.

"Hey, can I come in?" Caleb asked from the other side of the door.

"Yeah." Isaiah walked over and unlocked the door. Caleb opened the door and walked in, he looked Isaiah up and down before leaning against the counter. Isaiah smiled at him then went back to the counter and started to wash his face starting to apply his face wash.

"What's up?" asked Caleb.

"Ah, not much," Isaiah was still curious as to why he was there as he ran the water over his hands and splashed it on his face, then stopped to look at him. "What are you doing here?" Isaiah realised that he had an accusing tone in his voice but didn't mean to.

"I thought I'd come and drive you to school," explained Caleb, "You're on my route anyway, and I've got the truck." Isaiah looked at him strangely, knowing full well that his house was not on Caleb's way to school.

"I'm not exactly on your route!" Isaiah paused and his expression turned serious as he was about to ask the obvious question. "You're not worried about what people might say about that?" Isaiah stared at Caleb his face still dripping with water.

"Well, that's another reason I'm here." Isaiah felt his heart sink in his chest not sure what to expect as he watched Caleb's expression keep serious. "The other day after practise, Coach Adams came up to me and said that Sheena told him you were kissing a guy at the party," explained Caleb. Isaiah suddenly felt weak and a fear charged his mind as the repercussion scenario's ran through his head.

"What did you say to him?" he asked taking a deep nervous breath.

"I told him it wasn't true to my knowledge after I told him it wasn't really any of our business."

"I thought you said Sheena wasn't going to tell anyone." Isaiah tried to keep himself from breaking down he was terrified of what he might be walking into when he went to school.

"That's what she said but I really can't control what she does, right?" Caleb smiled at him, he could tell it was to try and help him relax. Caleb had to know what he was feeling. "I really don't expect much to come from it but just keep your guard up, okay?"

"Okay." Isaiah nodded and turned away as he dried his face and dropped the towel to put on his underwear.

"Man, don't do that this early!" Caleb laughed quietly. Isaiah looked back at him and smiled knowing full well what he did.

"Why?" he asked.

"You know why." Isaiah put his pants on and took a step closer to Caleb gazing at him.

"So, do you think this is going to become something or was it just a "one off"?" asked Isaiah half expecting a certain answer. He brushed Caleb's face with the back of his hand as Caleb put his hands around Isaiah's waist. The question was something Caleb was sure about until Isaiah asked him then he thought about it briefly and all the difficulty they would face.

"I'm not sure. I would like to, but it'll be hard, you know," said Caleb timidly. Isaiah became worried about wondering why he was so sure about it before, now hearing the uncertainty in his voice.

"I know that, but only until the end of the year. Once we're out of here and in University, things will be easier," Isaiah tried to comfort, "The rest of the world doesn't care who you're sleeping with." Isaiah smiled as he felt Caleb's hands tighten on his waste.

"I know. You're right." Caleb leaned in to kiss Isaiah just as Carla knocked on the door.

"What are you guys doing in there? You have to leave for school soon or you'll be late," she called. "If you're taking the bus, you need to leave now."

"We're leaving soon, mom. We'll be right out," Isaiah responded, "Caleb is going to drive me in." Isaiah paused and put his hands on Caleb's chest he tapped him twice then pulled away. "We really should get going," he said picking up his shirt.

"Yeah, unfortunately." Isaiah slid his shirt on and opened the door.

"Ready when you are." Isaiah sighed as Caleb lead the way on the walk out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. The two of them put on their sneakers and went outside to Caleb's truck and got in. Caleb started the truck and pulled out of the yard starting to drive. Isaiah couldn't help that his emotions were starting to shine through after finding out about Caleb's uncertainty. He let out a sniffle as his eyes filled with tears Caleb glanced over at him then back onto the road. "Caleb I need to know that," Isaiah stuttered, "That you're not going to just leave me in the middle of all this?" Isaiah had a desperate look on his face as he stared at Caleb.

"I..." Caleb glanced at Isaiah again then back at the road and realized how upset he was about the situation. "I'm sorry let me pull over." Caleb looked for a place to pull over as Isaiah sat crying in the seat next to him. Caleb felt horrible for upsetting him so much but he had spoken his mind. After some thought he figured he should have explained himself a little more. Caleb drove to the end of a dead end street where he figured no one would see him and stopped the truck. Caleb shut the truck off figuring that they would be awhile and slid over on the seat next to him. "Come here," said Caleb putting his arm around him. Caleb pulled Isaiah close to him trying to comfort him. "What I said, didn't come out the way I wanted it to." Isaiah looked up at him with tears flowing from his green eyes that were exaggerated by the natural light of the sun. "I'm sure about being with you. The only thing I'm not sure is how to go about all of this, I just don't know how to deal with it." Caleb kept having random sentences come to his head as he tried to describe what he meant there was so much to consider. "I've just never had to before. You're lucky at least you're mom knows about you." Caleb was getting frustrated at his inability to explain his point and let out a sigh. "I'm never gonna let you face this alone after it's my fault that people know about it in the first place..." Caleb paused almost giving up on explaining himself, "I'm not going anywhere Isaiah." Isaiah put his arm up around Caleb's neck and rested his head on Caleb's shoulder.

"Promise?"

"Of course." Caleb put his other arm up and held Isaiah as close to him as he could be. Isaiah had stopped crying and Caleb breathed him in and exhaled. Isaiah pulled away and looked at him clearly wanting to kiss him. Caleb wanted the same and put his hand on his neck and pulled him into a deep passionate kiss. After a few long seconds they stopped kissing and stared at each other. Isaiah rubbed his hand down Caleb's chest and smirked at him. "You know," Caleb started not really sure of where their situation was about to take, "we do have about fifteen minutes to spare before we have to be in first class. We don't really need to go to homeroom."

"Are you serious?"

"If you want I am," said Caleb bashfully, "If not, then don't worry about it." Caleb paused for a second waiting for Isaiah's reaction. "I do know a place."

"Well, if it's close, we can. But I don't think it would look good for us to show up together and late," explained Isaiah clearly feeling better.

"Good point." Caleb thought for a second about what they were about to do and decided he didn't really care at this point about being late. "It's close to the school, though. We should be fine." Caleb gave Isaiah one last peck on the cheek and slid back over to the driver's seat and put his seat belt on. He started the truck and pulled out of their parking spot and headed off to the field almost speeding. Isaiah watched as the scenery passed quickly, Caleb obviously knew where he was going. Isaiah began to get nervous of what was going to him not really sure what to expect. Shortly they pulled into a vast empty grassy field that Isaiah had never been to. "This is it. No one ever comes here."

"Caleb, are you sure this is safe? If we get caught again, it's really not going to be good," said Isaiah looking around at their surroundings nervously.

"I just wanna kiss you... just once." Caleb put the truck in park and put his arm up on the back of the seat. "That okay?" Before Isaiah could answer Caleb's cell phone started to ring, he quickly grabbed for it, not letting it ring more than once. He looked at the face as he hit the button to answer the phone and put it to his ear, Jonathan. "Yeah," he said being short and clearly annoyed. Isaiah could hear Jonathan speaking from the other end of the phone as he asked where Caleb was and why he was irritated. "I'm driving dude, I'm on my way." Caleb hung up his phone and smiled at Isaiah apologizing with his eyes. Isaiah figured he would just ignore the incident and keep the mood alive.

"Of course." Isaiah moved in closer to him and they stare into each other's eyes for a few seconds. Caleb brought his other arm around and touched Isaiah's face. "I've always thought you were so beautiful," whispered Isaiah. Caleb started to kiss him suddenly pushing himself forward on Isaiah aggressively almost knocking him backwards on the seat. Isaiah pushed him back slightly and Caleb kissed him again. "Wow!" said Isaiah caught off guard.

"Sorry." Caleb smirked at him. "But I've been thinking about this since yesterday. I can't help it." Caleb kissed him again. Isaiah pushed back on him and put his hand on the back of Caleb's head as he kissed him.

"You know," said Isaiah pulling out of the kiss briefly, "I don't know that we're going to make it back in time." Caleb pushed into another kiss and climbed on top of him.

"Now you're talking." Caleb undid his belt buckle before turning his attention fully to Isaiah they began to kiss deeply both of them clearly excited only able to breathe through their noses. Caleb started to kiss Isaiah's face and then slowly move down his body lightly sucking on his neck, and putting his hands up Isaiah's shirt. Caleb slowly lifted the shirt up Isaiah pushed him forward to sit up and Caleb lifted the shirt off all together and threw it behind the seat of the truck. Caleb stood on his knees and quickly unbuttoned his shirt ripping the last few buttons off to open it. Isaiah laid back down pulling Caleb back down with him and pulling him into a kiss again. This was it, Isaiah was about to lose his virginity and to the one person he had only dreamed about before. He ran his hands down Caleb's back as they kissed before Caleb started to move down on his body again. He could feel Caleb's lips touching his neck, the warmth and softness of his touch giving him goose bumps and sending chills through his body. He kissed Caleb's shoulder one more time before it was out of reach and he could still feel Caleb moving down his body stopping at his chest and kissing it all over. He looked down at him the sun shone in through the windows of the truck completely illuminating his olive coloured skin. Isaiah reached down and put his hand on Caleb's head and ran it through his gelled hair causing the gel to lose its hold. Caleb looked up at him and smiled before going back to kissing him moving a little bit lower to his abdomen slowly kissing and licking his belly button. Isaiah flinched at the feeling having never felt it before but nonetheless enjoying it. Caleb started to undo Isaiah's belt buckle as he continued to kiss his abdominal muscles. He pulled the belt buckle open and looked up at Isaiah his brown eyes shining in the light. Isaiah smiled at him and touched his face before he kept going. Caleb unbuttoned Isaiah's jeans and slowly lowered the zipper, then used both hands to pull them down. Isaiah now laid on his back in the truck wearing only his underwear. Caleb stopped what he was doing and sat up briefly and started to remove his own pants. He threw both pairs of pants on the floor of the truck. It was clear that both of them were completely excited. Isaiah reached up and touched Caleb's abdomen and smiled. Caleb laid back down on top of Isaiah bracing himself on one arm as they kissed. Caleb slowly lowered his free hand between them and put it down Isaiah's pants. Isaiah felt his heart racing as Caleb grabbed him. Caleb leaned forward and whispered in his ear. "I owe you something." Caleb slowly kissed his way down Isaiah's body again before starting to perform oral sex on him. Isaiah had never had anyone do this to him before and the feeling sent chills through his body. Caleb kept going as Isaiah began to twitch and jerk at the warm feeling of his mouth on his body. Isaiah shortly started to feel the only familiar feeling he had felt since they began, he was about to climax, he didn't want any of this to end yet. Isaiah took hold of Caleb's face and pulled him off of him and up into a kiss.

"I almost..." Isaiah whispered between kissing.

"Oh," Caleb smiled, "Sorry." Caleb pulled Isaiah close to him and held him for a few minutes the time no longer meaning anything. They continue to embrace and caress each other fully exploring each other's bodies with their hands. Isaiah pushed Caleb back and moved into a position so that he was on top of him and started to kiss his neck again. This was different from the first time in the gym bathroom. Caleb's skin was soft and smelled freshly showered. The smell of his body wash was a turn on for Isaiah for the longest time it was the only piece of Caleb he could take home with him. He lightly kissed Caleb's neck and chest the smell almost intoxicating to him, he had never smelled it so closely and right off of his body. He moved his hands down Caleb's chest and stomach eventually into his underwear holding onto him. Caleb flinched as he kissed his abdomen and then kissed his belly button. Isaiah pulled his hands from Caleb's underwear and then pulled them down slowly following the small bristle of hair down to Caleb's erection. Again he took Caleb in his mouth this time there was no taste of sweat on him just the softness of his skin. Isaiah could feel Caleb's body flinching and twitching he had hoped in pleasure, he was by no means experienced. Caleb let out a soft moan and put his hands on Isaiah's face rubbing his fingers through his hair as Isaiah kept going. Caleb let out another moan after a few short minutes and took a deep breath. "Stop," he said getting closer to climax. Isaiah stopped what he was doing and kissed his way back up Caleb's body eventually making his way into another passionate kiss. As they continued to kiss Caleb slowly repositioned the two of them so that he was on top of them and Isaiah was laying back comfortably on the seat of the truck. Caleb was sweating lightly small droplets dripping off of his forehead and landing on Isaiah's chest giving him goose bumps. Caleb sat staring down at him and smiled softly. "Do you want to keep going?" he whispered. Isaiah nodded and Caleb slowly braced his legs on his shoulders. Caleb reached into his unused ashtray and pulled out a condom in a golden wrapper. He opened it and put it on himself something he had practised doing on his own and with Sheena.

"It's my first time," said Isaiah quietly, "go slow."

"Of course." Caleb leaned in and kissed Isaiah again, Isaiah's legs still up on his shoulders. Isaiah had been nervous about this part but as they kissed he slowly felt his nervousness subsiding. He could feel the condom touching up against his body as they kissed. Isaiah embraced Caleb as they kissed and touched his face. The smell of Caleb's body filled his nose as they became as close as physically possible, his breath sending chills down his spine as Isaiah tried to mentally prepare for what was about to happen. Caleb kissed Isaiah's neck one more time before he slowly and gently began to push himself into Isaiah. Isaiah held onto Caleb tightly digging his fingers into his back. It was painful but not unbearable. Isaiah had been able to relax because of how loving Caleb had been with him. Caleb stopped pushing into him and stayed still for a few minutes as Isaiah sat with his arms around his neck. "Are you okay?" he whispered.

"Yes," Isaiah whispered back. Isaiah kissed Caleb on the cheek as Caleb began to move into a motion and the pain slowly replaced itself with pleasure. As Caleb started in faster and faster Isaiah held onto him as tight as he could. He had never felt anything like this before and couldn't describe it to himself other then in one word for the entire experience and that was perfect. Isaiah couldn't help but let out a quiet moan in pleasure as the act continued. By this time they were both dripping with sweat and Isaiah could feel Caleb's sweat dripping on him bringing on chills of pleasure. Caleb began to thrust faster and faster and leaned into a deep kiss. Isaiah felt the familiar feeling again but did not want it to stop. He brought his hand up and placed it on Caleb's face as he climaxed moaning out loud. Feeling Isaiah's body tense up Caleb gave one last thrust and let out a moan of pleasure as he was brought to climax. Caleb went limp on Isaiah still flinching lightly and collapsing on him. "You're amazing," Isaiah whispered in Caleb's ear. Caleb pulled out and Isaiah rested with one leg hanging off of the seat with Caleb laying on top of him still breathing heavily.

"So are you," Caleb said exhaling. Caleb pushed himself up and smiled at Isaiah his breathing starting to calm. Isaiah looked up at him he was still soaked with sweat, Isaiah could see each bead running over his skin. "So what now we can't go to school like this, can we?" Isaiah glanced over at the truck clock, it was already nine forty five there was no point in rushing since they had missed first period. Isaiah lay there staring at Caleb still processing what had just happening and not really sure how to respond to anything. "We could drop by my place and get rinsed off then head back to school." Caleb smiled at Isaiah's silence giving him a certain satisfaction with himself, that he was able to please his lover. "I'll take that as a yes." Caleb grabbed his boxers and pants from the floor and disposed of the condom discretely out the window. He quickly got his pants on and passed Isaiah his pants and underwear and sat at the wheel of the truck. Caleb grabbed his shirt from behind the seat and put it on deciding that when he got home he would most likely need to put on different clothing. Isaiah slowly sat up and grabbed a tissue from the box on the dash board and wiped himself off and started to get dressed.

"Yeah we can't go to school like this or at least I can't," Isaiah finally said coming out of his daze. Isaiah put his shirt on first then pulled up his pants and underwear. Caleb looked at him as he started the truck watching him do up his belt.

"Are you going to need new clothes?" asked Caleb as he put the truck in drive and pulled out of the field. Isaiah stared out the window for a second before answering.

"Um, no I don't think so."

"Are you okay?" Caleb looked from the road to Isaiah and back again as he drove.

"Yeah," Isaiah looked at him and smiled, "Yeah of course I am... are you?"

"Great." Caleb nodded and smirked at him. They arrived at Caleb's house seemingly almost instantly as they both had their heads elsewhere thinking about what they had done. Caleb pulled into his yard and the two of them got out of the truck. "No one's home yet." Caleb walked up to the door and slid the key in unlocking it and they walked in and shut the door. Isaiah walked in and grabbed Caleb by the hand. Caleb turned around and looked at Isaiah caught off guard. "What's wrong?" Caleb took a step toward him and Isaiah took his other hand.

"No," said Isaiah as he looked at their hands. Isaiah looked up at Caleb with a soft smile on his face and his eyes shining from the light that shone in on them from the large window. "Thank you Caleb," he whispered. Isaiah leaned in and kissed him still holding his hands. Caleb pulled back from the kiss with a smile on his face and lead Isaiah up to the shower.

"Come on." The two of them entered the bathroom and Caleb turned on the water in the shower. The two of them stripped down and got in the shower letting the water run over their bodies. Caleb watched Isaiah who stood in front of him with his back to him. He stared at the lean musculature in Isaiah's back as he rubbed his hands over his body with the water washing away the sweat. Caleb watched as the water flowed over his fair skin and reached out to touch him slowly rubbing his hand down his back. Isaiah looked back and half smiled at him his hair wet and stuck to his head. Isaiah took Caleb's hand and pulled him closer keeping his back to him. Caleb put his arms around Isaiah and rested his hands on Isaiah's stomach, Caleb kissed Isaiah on his shoulder as the water ran over the both of them.

Casey glanced up at the clock the hands telling her it was ten o'clock. Since she didn't see Isaiah or Caleb all morning she assumed that they were together. She had sent Isaiah several text messages all morning but had gotten no response. Her math period was fifteen minutes from the end and she was sitting and watching the clock waiting for the recess buzzer to sound. The teacher had already finished going over the assignments. Casey had worked ahead she wouldn't have to do any actual work in the classroom for at least a month other then the occasional formula review. She had earned the reputation as a genius with the teachers at her school. When she was younger she had been skipped ahead because of her marks and she had maintained the reputation ever since. Casey looked across the room at the so called popular clique. It mainly consisted of Sheena, Stephanie, and Katelyn and the guys from the team, Chris, Jonathan, Andrew, and Mike. Normally Caleb would be sitting with them as well but she had a feeling that that was all about to change. She wondered what Sheena was going to do about Caleb and Isaiah knowing that she wasn't the type to back down. Casey made no qualms about the fact that she didn't like Sheena or any of her friends, just as much as they made it clear that they thought they were better than her. They would often get into open arguments in the hallways sometimes even screaming matches. Caleb or Isaiah would usually put an end to it before it got to serious unless one of the teachers would happen to get within ear shot. Casey looked up at the clock again it was already thirteen minutes after, the teacher Mr. Lautner, was known for letting the class out early. She looked over at him hoping he would take some kind of a cue from her but to no avail. She started to put her text and work books into her back pack and just as she zipped it closed the buzzer rang. Everyone quickly packed up their belongings and headed out to their usual hang out spot on the first floor landing in front of the shop class room.

"Remember class, that assignment is due tomorrow. Jonathan I better get one from you this time," Mr. Lautner called over the commotion of people leaving. Jonathan looked back at him then kept walking Casey met him outside and the two of them walked down the hall together. They kept silent until they got a fair distance from the room. They were by the high school back door Chris, Mike and Andrew had followed them, as a rule Sheena and her friends would be along shortly.

"Man Mr. Lautner is such a fag," said Jonathan. Casey rolled her eyes at the comment Jonathan was clearly just upset about the teacher calling him out over his schoolwork. She waited for one of the others to chime in and support him as was typical for them. None of them including Jonathan were complete idiots. They had to have a certain grade level maintained or they wouldn't be able to play in their games. But for the most part they only did what they had to and nothing else.

"I know man, I can't stand that class," proclaimed Andrew, "When are we really ever going to use that garbage?"

"Hey man, you never know when you might need to be able to apply a math problem to a real life situation," said Mike, "I do all the time!" The others looked at Mike who had a broad sarcastic smile on his face. The group of guys laughed. Casey liked Jonathan but these were the people that Isaiah talked about as his torturers so it was hard for her to be around them and keep her mouth shut. Chris was looking around the hallway with a confused look in his face.

"Any of you guys seen Caleb?" he asked.

"Nah man he never made it in this morning," said Jonathan, "I called him earlier, said he was on his way but that was just before class started."

"Something must of come up," laughed Andrew, "He still has the house to himself until tonight. I wonder what her name is?" Casey smiled to herself wondering if they knew just how right they were. Caleb had to be with Isaiah.

"I have seen Isaiah this morning either and he's not answering my text messages." Jonathan looked at her with an almost mad look on his face but was also partially confused.

"I don't see why you brought that up," he said. Casey just looked at Jonathan for a few seconds.

"Well neither one of them are here, sorry for thinking that was common ground for the discussion," said Casey clearly irritated, "And just so you know you wouldn't hate Mr. Lautner's class if you actually showed up and did what he asked you." Casey's words were followed by an awkward silence. "Anyway you said you talked to Caleb this morning?" she asked casually.

"Yeah. I'm not sure where he is he said he was on his way," said Jonathan both of them choosing to ignore the potential argument.

"I hope he's okay," Casey paused and looked at each of the others, "Have any of you guys seen Isaiah around yet?"

"No. Like I care," Jonathan paused, "Wait." Jonathan clearly was thinking of the Caleb and Isaiah not being around together. "Nah, never mind."

"I think I'll give Isaiah a shout." Casey took out her cell phone and dialled Isaiah's number. She put the phone to her ear letting it ring a couple times. "He's not answering." Casey looked at the exit behind them just in time to see Caleb and Isaiah walk in, the others hadn't noticed yet. "I'll see you later," she said. Jonathan noticed Caleb and Isaiah walk in together but looks away and ignores it. Casey walked over to Isaiah and grabbed him by the arm leading him away from Caleb. "Walk with me or it's going to be obvious." Casey pulled Isaiah under a nearby stairwell out of sight. "What the fuck are you two thinking? Are you trying to get caught?" asked Casey concerned. Casey looked Isaiah up and down he appeared to be high.

"Sorry," he said smiling. "I couldn't resist him. I don't know even car about anything right now." Isaiah leaned against the wall and let out a swooning sigh.

"Oh my god," said Casey grinning, "What did you two do?"

"I don't even remember it all. It's all just a jumble of sensations and images."

Caleb walked over to Jonathan and the others, like Isaiah he was still a bit nostalgic from their encounter. He and Isaiah had spent a long time in the shower just holding each other, he couldn't help but smile thinking about it.

"Hey guys, what's up?" he said putting up the front.

"I don't know. You tell me!" said Jonathan irritated. "Where the hell were you?" Caleb had forgotten that he was speaking to Jonathan briefly before they had started.

"Oh yeah. I had to go do something at my father's office. He wanted me to pick something up for him." Caleb kept speaking as the words popped into his head hoping it would make sense when it came out.

"Cool," said Mike. "Does your dad still have the building downtown?"

"Yeah. He want me to tell the receptionist something and check the computer," Caleb lied, "To make sure his email was going through right."

"Took you long enough," said Andrew.

"Yeah, ah, traffic." Caleb scratched the back of his head. Jonathan let out a sigh of frustration not fully believing what Caleb was saying.

"Dude you gotta watch what that looks like. People are gonna talk," said Jonathan. Caleb was annoyed at Jonathan's blatancy on the subject and decided to give him the same attitude.

"Let them." Chris felt the tension building in the conversation and was wanting to break the tension between them.

"So... congrats on finally getting rid of Sheena," he stuttered. Caleb let out a brief laugh and looked away then looked at Chris.

"Yeah, maybe." Caleb was sarcastic in tone and already knew what was coming next, Chris made it known for a long time that he thought Sheena was hot.

"So, um," he started, "if someone else were to move in on that territory, would you care?"

"Dude," Caleb didn't think that he would have been so blatant about it, he had expected a more subtle approach, "it's been like two days. Have some class okay?"

"Hey dude, just asking." Chris put his hands in his pockets and looked away when Casey and Isaiah walked into the hallway and over to them. Isaiah still had a spaced look on his face Jonathan watched them approach with a taunting look on his face.

"Where'd you find that?" he asked still avoiding the fact that he saw them walk in together. Casey gave Jonathan one of her trademark annoyed looks.

"Look at him. Can't you tell he's on something?" she said her tone expressing the look on her face.

"Yeah," said Isaiah euphorically, "I had a headache this morning so I took some of mom's stuff for her back." Isaiah was still aware of what was going on but the feeling he had gotten from Caleb was starting to pass. His mother wasn't on any medication for her back but he had to explain himself with something. They would never know the difference and he knew Casey would go along with it.

"Looks like it musta been some good shit," laughed Andrew.

"I'd say," said Caleb smiling. Jonathan wanted to divert the conversation from Isaiah, he didn't care what he had been on or why he was acting like he was.

"So, Caleb, before the last game, I think we should put in a few more practises than normal, huh?" he explained. Caleb shook his head agreeing with him.

"Yeah man, if you want. Can't make people show up though unless the coach schedules it," explained Caleb. Jonathan looked at Caleb for a moment confused, he thought he had been obvious enough wondering why Caleb hadn't caught on.

"This is why I'm telling you." Caleb looked away in time to notice that Sheena, Katelyn and Stephanie were walking down the hallway toward them. Sheena stopped and walked over to them with a confident look on her face. She smiled at Caleb as he looked away.

"Hey guys," she said smiling as she approached, "Hey Chris, what are you doing later?" Chris seemed to blush and Caleb shook his head and looked at the floor. Sheena noticed only making her more confident. "We should go for coffee later."

"Oh, um, yeah," Chris nervously looked at Caleb looking for signs of disproval. Caleb didn't give any sign one way or another he figured that if she was occupied with Chris then she would have less time to bother him or Isaiah. "Call me later." Sheena smiled and then looked at Casey.

"Hello, Casey," Casey felt her heart sink in her chest knowing that she wasn't going to be able hold herself back, "You're looking great today, as usual." Sheena had a broad smirk on her face. As a rule this was the point where Caleb would chime in and say something to her to stop her from teasing or being "rude". But he couldn't say anything now, not if he didn't want her to say something about Isaiah and his little secret.

"Oh my god, Sheena," laughed Katelyn, "You shouldn't lie to the poor girl like that." Jonathan was able to tolerate Sheena's attitude for now because he had to because of what they had talked about. But he wasn't about to stand there and let Katelyn be nasty to Casey.

"Screw off, whore." Casey looked up at Jonathan surprised that he had taken up for her to one of the popular crew.

"That's okay, Jonathan. Don't worry about them. I hear anorexia is cool nowadays," Casey made the decision that she was going to let loose and smiled at them. "You know, when I'm all grown up and outta university with a doctorate of psychology making a five figure income and they're at home with a heart condition because of the bulimia and waiting on their husbands who hate them because they've gotten older and saggy with leather skin from all that tanning and they're no longer pretty and they realize that no one likes them," said Casey sarcastically, "they'll just do the world a favour and kill themselves anyway, right?" Casey took a step over to Sheena and smirked at her. "Isn't that how those stories end?"

"You fat cow," said Stephanie stepping forward. Jonathan put himself between Stephanie and Casey knowing that Stephanie was about to start swinging.

"Oh," said Casey mocking sympathy, "too harsh or should I keep going?" Just then the principal, Robert Campbell, walked down the stairs behind them having heard their conversation. Mr. Campbell as a rule was stern but fair. He was a large man standing six and a half feet tall and probably weighed close to three hundred pounds.

"Girls," said Mr. Campbell in his stern powerful voice, "settle down or I'll have to do something about you myself." The principal scratched his head and kept walking knowing that he had gotten his point across. Mr. Campbell had two girls of his own that were now college age so bickering teenage girls were something he was used to. Sheena watched the principal as he turned the corner then smiled at Chris.

"Talk to you later, Chris." Sheena flirtatiously reached out and touched Chris's chest then looked back at Stephanie and Katelyn. "Come on, girls. She's not worth it." Stephanie and Katelyn both glared at Casey as they followed Sheena down the hallway. Caleb watched Sheena and the others walking down the hallway then shook his head. He looked at Chris with a blank look on his face then smiled at Casey.

"Well, that was great. Nice job, Casey," he laughed quietly.

"Hey," Casey laughed, "I thought so." The buzzer sounded letting everyone know that it was time to go back to class and recess was over. Isaiah and Casey had a History University prep course to go to.

"Let's get to class," said Isaiah having finally pulled himself together, "I've got a feeling this is gonna be a long day." Caleb had his own history class to go to with the others, something he was dreading considering he had to sit next to Sheena the entire class.

Isaiah had been sitting in his seat now for fifteen minutes listening to the teacher lecture. He had been right about it being a long day and he was sitting at his desk starring up at the clock. It almost seemed like the hands were going in slow motion probably because he hadn't taken his eyes off the clock since the class started. The teacher was still talking but Isaiah hadn't been able to listen his mind too distracted with thoughts of Caleb for him to even care about what he was saying. He was happy about his current situation but couldn't help but wonder how they were going to make it to the end of the school year. Even if it was only a few weeks away it seemed like an eternity. Isaiah looked up at the teacher for a few minutes watching him lecture seeing his mouth moving but not hearing what he was saying. History was a subject that Isaiah didn't particularly like, but he had taken the course because it would look good on his application to any university. He did well in it managing to maintain a ninety percent average but he often failed to see the practical application of it. Isaiah was the only guy on the team that took any of the university courses. Since they had to maintain an eighty percent average to be able to play most of them usually took the basic classes or like Caleb took, the regular level classes. Casey was the only other person from their group who took the class and it was to be expected of her. The rest of the class was silent accept for the teacher who still continued to lecture. Isaiah watched as he walked back and forth in front of the class and wrote the occasional point form note on the board. Isaiah made sure to copy the notes down he would often just take notes and make sense of the material later as he read the chapter. Isaiah continued to watch but turned his mind to Caleb, everything was going so well Isaiah couldn't help but wonder where they were going to hit the block in the road. Caleb was everything he always knew he was, sweet, smart, affectionate and an amazing lover. His only downfall was Sheena, Isaiah didn't let it on much he was terrified of her and what she might be capable of. He couldn't wait just to get the hell out of town and forget that it ever existed. Isaiah looked up thinking he had heard his name.

"Mr. Argent?" asked Mr. Johnson sounding almost concerned. Isaiah made eye contact with him as he realised he was being talked to. "Are you okay?" Isaiah didn't realise how obvious it had been that he wasn't paying attention.

"Um," Isaiah shook his head, "yes sir."

"Good, then pay attention," Mr. Johnson picked up his text book and flipped a couple of pages, "This stuff is going to be on the final. Don't mess it up now." Mr. Johnson started to write something on the board. He was one of Isaiah's favourite teachers, having given him a lot of support in the class at first when he was struggling. Mr. Johnson was known as the type of teacher that would often over explain so even though it was a history class there wasn't a whole lot of reading required. Isaiah looked up at the clock it was only eleven thirty the class being half over, Isaiah let out a bored sigh and flipped a couple pages in his text book.

Class for Caleb had been going painfully slow, it was the basic level history class that he was taking. Normally Caleb enjoyed history but today everything was awkward. Most of the team was in the class with the exception of a few of the slower students who took the down level class. Not only that but Sheena and her friends were in the class as well. Caleb was sitting right next to Sheena, when he came to class he had tried to get a different seat but the teacher had assigned seating that everyone picked at the beginning of the year. Unfortunately that meant he had to sit with Sheena and they wouldn't let him sit elsewhere. It bugged him that even though the team knew what was going on no one offered to trade with him. The teacher was copying a note on the board for them to write down and as Caleb wrote he could feel Sheena staring over at him. He kept writing and did everything he could, not to look in her direction, knowing that she would try talk to him. He finished the first of 5 paragraphs the teacher had written on the board and continued on in silence. As a rule Caleb would bring in a laptop and type all of his notes but in his hurry he had forgotten it, he wasn't used to the strain on his wrist. Caleb let out a quiet sigh and sat back in his desk doing a small wrist exercise to relieve the tension. The teacher looked back at him having heard the sigh.

"Forget your laptop today, Mr. Rodriguez?" he asked smiling. Caleb got along with all of his teachers for the most part. Since he was the captain of the football team the teachers already had an affinity for him. Although there was the odd one that would be deliberately harder on him because of it, he was usually well behaved so they didn't have much to go at him with.

"Yes sir," Caleb laughed quietly, "I was in a hurry to get out of the house." Mr. Weaving went back to writing on the board. Caleb picked up his pen and looked at his paper not really wanting to continue. He started to think about Isaiah wondering if he was thinking about him and what they had done this morning. Isaiah had been engaged in deep thought all morning after they had gotten out of the shower they didn't talk much. Caleb had never been with a guy before but he was by no means a virgin. He and Sheena had had sex several times from the time they had turned fifteen but it had never been anything like what he and Isaiah had done. Often times with Sheena, it was either awkward, unsatisfying or one sided and to Caleb it always felt like more of a chore then something he wanted to do. The teacher tapped his chalk on the board twice signifying that he was done writing and went to sit at his desk.

"Make sure you get this down guys it's part of the final." Mr. Weaving sat down and picked up the text book starting to read through his notes. Caleb looked up at the clock, they were in the last fifteen minutes of class and he had almost made it without speaking to Sheena. He went back to writing and Sheena discretely placed a note on his desk and went back to writing. Caleb stopped writing for a few seconds and looked at the small piece of paper sitting on his desk, not wanting to open it. He thought for a second about the joy that she would get out of seeing his response to any insult that she had planned for him. She stared at him smiling in anticipation, Caleb cracked a half smile and exhaled enough to blow the paper off of his desk and he went back to writing. Sheena slammed her fist on her desk getting the attention of the teacher. "Problem, Miss Olson?" asked Mr. Weaving looking up from the text book.

"No sir," said Sheena sitting back in her seat. Sheena had a disgruntled look on her face as she sat still for a few seconds when she raised her hands. "Mr. Weaving, may I be excused?" The teacher waived his hand signalling his permission. Word had spread fast of the two of them breaking up since she had told the coach about it all. The teachers that favoured him were displeased with her calling the coach and trying to cause trouble for him. Sheena got up and went to the bathroom and Mr. Weaving glanced over at Caleb expecting him to want to follow her. When Caleb didn't respond to him he looked back down at his book. Caleb continued writing they only had another ten minutes left to class and he had a lot of work to get done.

Isaiah had just sat down at his table with the slice of veggie pizza he had just bought from the cafeteria counter. Casey sat down next to him with a plate of fries and burger. The two of them sat at a table alone two tables down from Caleb and the rest of the team. Isaiah watched as people piled into the cafeteria and sat down. Sheena and Jonathan were both sitting with Caleb and the rest of the team. Isaiah knew how awkward it must of been for Caleb. Sheena followed the team around like a lost puppy and he didn't know why. The team always made it clear that they didn't like her at all with the exception of what he saw at the party with Chris. He didn't get why they put up with her now that they didn't have to.

"I think I'm going to go over there," he said. Casey looked at him with a fry in her hand and a concerned look on her face.

"Are you crazy? We can't sit with them," she said with her concern showing. "With Katelyn and Sheena?" Isaiah looked at her surprised that she was almost fearful, it wasn't like her to show any fear over Sheena or the others.

"Jonathan and Caleb are both over there. We can sit with them," explained Isaiah, "They won't let them bother you." As the words came from his mouth Isaiah felt a sinking feeling. He was thinking about Jonathan and the rest of the team. On one hand he didn't want to have to deal with the team teasing him, but he was more concerned with people seeing them together, starting to think about how the two of them coming in together must have looked. "Are you coming?" Isaiah grabbed his back pack and his plate he figured it was too late now he had already said he was heading over. Casey let out a frustrated sigh and stood up to follow him.

"Lead the way." Casey and Isaiah walked over to the table the team was sitting at and sat down. They had been talking but as Casey and Isaiah sit down everyone at the table goes quiet. "Don't stop on our account." Casey smiled as she sat with Jonathan and Isaiah sat with Caleb across from her. Isaiah glanced around the table avoiding eye contact with Sheena. "What were you guys talking about?" Andrew sat forward and took a bite out of the apple he was holding.

"We were just talking about the party and all the sex that was floating around that night. I think everyone got laid didn't they?" Andrew smiled at Ryan one of the lesser known members of the team.

"Yeah I heard even you got some there, Isaiah," Ryan looked at Isaiah and smiled. Caleb looked at Isaiah with a small smirk on his face but stayed quiet. Jonathan let out a small laugh causing Casey to give him a small nudge in the arm. Isaiah thought for a second of how to respond pretty sure he was walking into a trap that would open the door for more attacks.

"Yeah," Isaiah took a bite of his pizza and swallowed, "But I don't remember seeing you going with anyone though." Casey snickered quietly and Caleb and Jonathan both laughed. Ryan wasn't someone that anyone particularly liked or disliked but Isaiah wasn't about to let him score popularity points off of him. Ryan rolled his eyes and looked down at his plate going back to eating his pizza. Casey sat forward in her chair and smiled.

"You know who else I'm pretty sure went home alone that night?" she asked glancing back and forth from Sheena to the others. Sheena let out a frustrated sigh and started to pack up her stuff. Casey looked at her. "Ironically the person who through a massive throw your drink everywhere fit, funny how when you're a bitch the sex just kinda dry's up, huh... Sheena?" The entire table except for Katelyn, Sheena, and Chris started to laugh ecstatically.

"Whatever!" Sheena scowled and walked away from the table, Chris and Katelyn quickly follow behind her. The team started chanting Casey's name repeatedly for several seconds and stopped.

"That gentlemen, is what we call bitch-be-gone," laughed Casey. As Isaiah sat and listened to the commotion he could also feel Caleb's leg rubbing up against his under the table. He looked over at him, Caleb wasn't looking in his direction avoiding being obvious. Isaiah played along with it diverting his attention to what was happening at the table.

"So Caleb have you talked to the coach about an extra practise or two this week?" asked Mike.

"Oh no man I haven't really had a chance figured if I was gonna do it I'd just wait until we got there tomorrow," answered Caleb moving his food around on his plate with his fork. "Who am I kidding I'm not gonna eat this." Caleb lets out a sigh of frustration and gets up. "I need to go to the bathroom. I'll catch you guys later." Caleb walks out of the cafeteria.

"That was weird," said Andrew, "Or was it just me?" Isaiah shook his head, Caleb was probably stressed because he had to spend the morning around Sheena.

"Nah, he's been weird since the party," said Jonathan, "I don't get it either." Isaiah chose to ignore the conversation for the most part as he quickly ate away at his food not wanting to be there anymore with Caleb not there. "But then again, I don't get a lot of things." Jonathan was looking at Isaiah with a smirk on his face.

"I don't think any of us understand that dude," said Andrew. Isaiah felt his phone vibrate and took it out of his pocket already planning to use it as an excuse to leave. He looked at the face of his phone, it was a message from Caleb. _I'm out in the truck can you get out of there?_ Isaiah looked around at the others who were still talking amongst themselves and got up to leave. "Message from your boyfriend?" Isaiah felt irritated at the comment but at the same time couldn't help but laugh a bit to himself.

"My mother actually, wants me to go to the store to grab a movie before I go home tonight." Obviously not the case in this instance but it was something that he had done before so he figured it would be believable. Isaiah picked up his pack and wore it over his shoulder. "See you in class Casey." Casey smiled already knowing what was going on and nodded him off. Isaiah left the cafeteria and headed toward the back door that was just down the hall. Caleb had parked out back earlier hoping it would be less noticeable. As he stepped out of the doorway Caleb pulled up in front of him there was no one else around. They smiled at each other through the truck window as Isaiah got in. Caleb pulled away from the school they only had a few minutes left to their lunch hour before they'd have to go back to class. "What's wrong?" asked Isaiah. Caleb looked at him and smiled.

"Nothing really, I just didn't wanna be around those idiots right now," explained Caleb, "And I wanted to see you." Caleb drove the truck to an empty parking lot that was close to the school. "Well more like I wanted to hug you." Caleb looked at Isaiah as he put the truck in park shutting it off and edged over to him.

"I could use one of those," Isaiah smiled and put his arms around Caleb. Isaiah could smell Caleb's body wash as he rest his head against Caleb's chest and closed his eyes breathing him in. The air was completely still the silence was almost making Isaiah's ears ring only able to hear Caleb's breath. Caleb kissed Isaiah's neck and took a deep breath as a sudden comfort rushed over his body and put his mind at ease. He felt like he could get through the rest of the day now still having two more classes with Sheena before the day would end and he could go home. The two of them sat for several minutes before they heard the buzzer ringing back at the school. "We better get going," whispered Isaiah.

"I don't want to," Caleb whispered back.

"Me either, but we have to you know that." Caleb pulled back and looked at Isaiah for a second who reached out and touched his face with the back of his hand. Caleb smiled at him and kissed his hand before getting back in the driver's seat.

"I know, you're right." Caleb laughed a bit as he started the truck. They headed back to the school each of them heading to their own separate classes for the afternoon.

The rest of the afternoon passed by quickly and uneventfully, Isaiah sat on the bus as it approached his stop. He decided not to let Caleb take him home not wanting anyone to get any more suspicious about them. The ride home had been thankfully quiet. Almost everyone had decided to carpool home instead of taking the bus. Casey had gotten a drive home from Jonathan and Sheena had gone home with Chris, pretty much taking care of all of the background noise on the bus. The bus slowly pulled to his stop and he stood up to get off the bus. He walked to the doorway and stepped off the bus starting to walk down the road to his house. He thought Caleb would want to come over for a bit later but because his parents were coming home sometime today he stayed home to see them. Isaiah came to his driveway and headed in. It was quiet his mother still at work and the house empty. He walked into the house and decided even though he was feeling drained that he would start his homework to get it out of the way. He walked into the house and sat his back pack on the floor as he bent down to take his sneakers off. Afterword he went into his room and sat on his bed getting his homework out. He had been assigned some reading and had a few math problems to get out of the way figuring it shouldn't take long. He laid down on the bed with the book on his pillow and started to work away at the math problems. Math was not one of his favoured subjects he had made up his mind that once he was done high school that he would do his best to never have to look at another math problem unless he absolutely had to. Isaiah sat doing his homework easily working out each problem in his head, luckily he had gotten most of them done in school. There wasn't much at school he wasn't good at when it came to his studies. The only thing he really didn't do well at was socializing and that was something he was on his own with. All he had left to do was to read the chapter in his biology text, which he reached in and grabbed from his back pack. Isaiah sat the large book in front of him and let out a sigh as he flipped through to the starting page. He was tired he was already knowing he wouldn't make it through the chapter in full. He started to read and as he read and flipped each page the words began to start to seem like they were getting farther and farther away from him. The chapter was on the make-up of a cell and was pretty dry to begin with. Isaiah shook his head and took a deep breath and kept going, he looked at his clock, it was already quarter after five. He started back into the book but it wasn't long before the words on the page started to run together and the letters seemed to be jumping off the page at him. Isaiah made the decision that he would finish reading the chapter later, he needed to get a nap in. He pushed his text to the side and laid his head down easily falling asleep.

Caleb opened his eyes to the warm spring sun shining in his face, he had come right home after school and laid down for a nap. He didn't know why but he was feeling more tired than usual even though it wasn't unusual for him to come home and have a nap right after school. He sat up slowly on his bed and looked at the clock it was already almost six o'clock, he normally didn't sleep that long but there had been no one to wake him up. The large house was still empty, his parents weren't home yet and Caesar was gone supposed to be off for a week. Caleb dreaded the math homework he had waiting in his back pack but stood up and grabbed it from his pack anyway. He walked over and sat at his desk he also had to get some reading done but it was only a few pages from his history book and shouldn't take him that long. Caleb started into the math homework first and easily worked through it in a little over a half hour. He sat his history text on his table and opened it already feeling overcome with boredom. He began to read through it paragraph after paragraph shortly flipping the page, it was one of several chapters to do with the first world-war. Caleb looked at the paper book and decided not to finish tonight. He had too much on his mind, his parents were coming home he was excited to tell them that he won his last game. He also wondered if it would be good to tell them about Sheena or not. He closed the book and stood up, he grabbed a football off of one of his shelves and sat back on his bed. He laid their tossing the football in the air and catching it thinking to himself. He was glad his parents were getting home he was sick of being alone in their house. Caleb lay there with his thoughts for what didn't seem to be a very long time until he heard the door open downstairs. He got off his bed quickly to go meet them at the door glancing at the clock on the way by, it was already eight o'clock. Caleb walked downstairs just as his mother Barbara walked in and sat a suitcase on the floor. He wore a smile as he greeted her.

"Hey, how was the trip?" he asked containing his excitement.

"Great," she answered, "Good to see you, Caleb." Barbara walked over to Caleb and hugged him tightly. "Oh, I missed my baby boy. Any calls while we were gone?" She pulled back from the hug and held his face smiling at him.

"No. Nothing. I missed you too, Mom." Caleb's father, Gordon, walked in carrying several suitcases.

"Caleb, vena qui!" he called in Spanish. "Don't just stand there, boy!"

"Oh, right. Sorry Dad!" said Caleb as he hurried over and took a suit case in each hand to help his father. Gordon was smaller than Caleb in stature only, the air he carried about himself and his strong voice made him very intimidating to most people. "How was your trip? Did you land that account?" Caleb took the two heavy suitcases he carried over to the couch in the living room.

"Almost. Not quite yet. We still need to make one more trip to finalize the contract," explained Gordon. The two of Caleb's parents being corporate lawyers meant that they had a lot of money but very little time. Even if they were home they wouldn't spend much time around the house often working in the office or the study.

"Awe man, almost!" Caleb brought two more suitcases in from the hall and sat them by the couch. Gordon brought in their two laptop bags. "I won my last game," said Caleb proud of himself.

"That's great, son," said Gordon before turning his attention to Barbara. "Barbara, put these in the study please and remember to set the lock again." This was what Caleb didn't want to happen but was unfortunately already prepared for it since it was typical. He was used to being blown off by his father about any of his accomplishments.

"I will, dear," said Barbara slightly irritated at Gordon. She picked up the computers and walked into the study that was just off the living room. Gordon continued to go through the luggage.

"So, when are you guys leaving again?"

"We have to take off on Friday again to make the meetings they want. I don't know what it is with these people," Gordon stopped what he was doing and stood up to look at Caleb, "They insist on having these meetings on the weekends. I mean, who works on weekends anymore, right?" Gordon bent down to get back into the luggage.

"That's my last game this season," Caleb paused and let out a sigh half wondering why he would even bother to ask the next question already knowing the answer to it. "Can you guys come?"

"I'll get it taped," Gordon responded quickly not even bothering to look up and see the look of disappointment in Caleb's face that he had caused so many times.

"Wish you guys could come to just one, you know." Caleb could almost feel tears coming but pushed them back not wanting to let his father see him cry. Barbara walked out of the study shutting the door behind her and kissed Caleb on the forehead.

"I know, baby. But you know, Caleb, your lifestyle doesn't come easy, my dear. Your father and I have worked hard for what we have," explained Barbara.

"Mom, I know that, but I just wish I could see you guys once in a while." Caleb hated when his parents would say that to him he was fully aware that they didn't live like normal people and that it took hard work to get where they are. He always felt like they didn't think he appreciated any of it.

"We're here for the rest of the week, aren't we?" said Gordon almost sarcastically looking at Caleb from the corner of his eye.

"How much time are you gonna be at the office though, dad?" asked Caleb trying not to whine.

"Well Caleb," said Gordon diving back into his luggage, "we've all gotta sacrifice." Caleb had enough he and his father didn't typically get along well anyway he didn't want to be around him anymore.

"Never mind," he said frustrated, "Did you want me to carry any of this somewhere?" Caleb looked around at the mess of luggage at their feet. "I'm going back to my room."

"No, just leave it there, son." Gordon stood up with a small box in his hand. "I'll get Caesar to get it put away tomorrow." Caleb looked at Gordon confused as he walked into the study.

"Didn't you give him this week off?" Gordon walked out of the study empty handed and smiled at Caleb with a forced smile.

"So? We can just call him back in. He won't mind." Caleb found it funny and laughed to himself a bit at his parents accusing him of being the one that didn't appreciate what they had. Caesar was Gordon's brother and he seemed to just think of him as an employee. For the sake of avoiding the fight Caleb decided to stay quiet and shook his head then headed back upstairs to his bedroom.

"Alright then." Caleb walked into his bedroom and shut the door behind him. He laid down on his bed on his back staring at the ceiling with tears in his eyes. He always felt like this about his parents, he was excited to get home then when they would get home and he would talk to his father they would just get into an argument. Then he would end up right where he was now. Laying on his bed wondering why he missed them at all in the first place. Caleb got up and grabbed his book off the desk and started to do a little bit of the reading he was assigned. As he read the first few paragraphs he couldn't get still not being left in the mood to do homework. Frustrated, he threw the book on the floor next to his bed and looked at his cell phone. He wanted to call Isaiah. "Wonder what he's doing." Caleb picked up his cell phone off of the end table and sat on his bed looking through the directory on his phone. He found the number and hit the call button and put the phone on speaker, he sat it on his bed and laid his head next to it. The phone rang three times.

"Hello?" Isaiah's voice came from the phone.

"Hey, what's up?" asked Caleb quietly.

"Oh hey, not much," answered Isaiah caught off guard, "Just getting some studying done. You?" Just hearing Isaiah's voice brought Caleb into a state of calm that he couldn't seem to get from anywhere else anymore. But Caleb was surprised that Isaiah didn't know it was him calling.

"Man, don't you have caller ID on your phone?" he asked realizing afterwards that he must have sounded rude.

"Nah, I don't have any extra stuff. Just the basics. Mom just wants to be able to reach me, you know," explained Isaiah.

"Ah, I guess," Caleb paused awkwardly, "I don't suppose you're studying anything important that could be done at another time?" Caleb rolled onto his back with the phone next to his head.

"No, it's nothing that I need to do right now, just sometime this week. Why? Everything okay?" asked Isaiah starting to get the sense that Caleb wanted someone to talk to.

"Yeah no, everything's fine. Just looking for some conversation."

"Cool. I can go for some of that myself. What's on your mind?" Caleb could hear Isaiah shifting positions over the phone.

"Well, my parents are home," said Caleb not sounding happy.

"That's good. How long this time?"

"Yeah, they're gone by Friday again."

"They're not going to be around for the game?" Isaiah didn't seem to be picking up on the fact that Caleb was distraught over his parents.

"Nah, they've gotta go again. They're trying to land this billion dollar account, I guess, cus you know our money troubles will be over then," said Caleb sarcastically.

"Money troubles," said Isaiah confused, "Are you kidding?"

"This is why I laugh," laughed Caleb, "We're certainly not hurting at all."

"What do your parents do for a living, anyway?"

"Corporate lawyers. They deal with a lot of really big companies." Caleb had just assumed that everyone in town knew what his parents did he had never been asked before.

"Wow, that must keep them busy."

"Yeah, tell me about it. I never see them."

"Sounds like some teenagers dream." Caleb had never looked at it in that perspective before, but Isaiah was right most teenagers didn't enjoy being around their parents. He didn't like them being gone all the time and if it weren't for Caesar he would go crazy with loneliness.

"Yeah, someone out there. Maybe the ones who haven't experienced their parents being gone all the time; not me. I really miss my parents a lot. They're home now, but they'll be gone to the office all week, it's not like I'll get to see them at all."

"I gathered from your sleep talking that you didn't see them often."

"Dad's getting my tio to tape the game for him." Caleb paused he didn't even like the way the words sounded coming out of his mouth. He didn't feel like talking about his father and mother anymore he wanted to change the topic. "What do your mom and dad do?" he asked. Caleb knew about his mother from talking with Caesar but Isaiah had never mentioned his father before.

"My mom is an assistant manager at a grocery store. Doesn't pay a whole lot, but we get by," explained Isaiah. "It's just the two of us, right."

"That's cool. The more money people have, the more problems seem to follow. What about your father?" Caleb didn't realize that Isaiah had said the two of them until after he finished speaking already feeling like he had overstepped his bounds.

"Well..." Isaiah trailed off causing Caleb to feel even worse about pushing the subject. Caleb took a deep breath and closed his eyes cursing to himself.

"I'm sorry. I guess I shouldn't have asked yet."

"No, it's okay," said Isaiah clearly not offended. "He died before I was old enough to really know him," Isaiah paused briefly as if thinking about his father, "Prostate cancer."

"Wow, that's pretty rough." Caleb and Isaiah talked through the night about several different things; video games, football, school, music and the future. Caleb broke out his guitar and played some soft acoustic music for Isaiah the time had been ticking away and it was not six thirty. Caleb's alarm clock goes off startling him so much he almost falls off the bed before reaching over to shut it off. "Whoa!" said Caleb as he realised what the time read on his clock.

"Oh wow, was that your alarm clock?" ask Isaiah

"Yeah," Caleb laughed.

"Man, we've been talking all night! I have to go get ready for school." Caleb could hear Isaiah shuffling around as he started to get his books together.

"Yeah, me too," Caleb paused as he looked around his room, "Can I come pick you up?"

"Sure," Isaiah paused and Caleb could hear more papers rustling thinking he must have been pretty into his work when they were talking. "How long will you take?"

"Um," Caleb stood up and looked around for his clothing, "probably an hour or so?"

"Cool. Sounds good. See you then."

"Okay, I..." Caleb stopped the words that seemed to be flowing so easily so quickly before they came out knowing it was too soon.

"You what?" asked Isaiah.

"Heh, nothing," Caleb laughed uncomfortably, "I'll be there soon." Caleb quickly hung up his phone and then laid back on his bed rubbing his face. "Dammit." Caleb got up quickly again and rushed into the bathroom to start getting ready to go, already feeling the effects of staying up all night.


	7. Chapter 7: The Incident

Isaiah couldn't believe that they had talked on the phone all night as he sat on the edge of his bed running his hands through his hair. He had learned a lot about Caleb from their conversation, his favourite colour, his favourite food, that he played an instrument. The fact that Caleb was quite skilled in the acoustic guitar was something Isaiah had a hard time wrapping his head around. Apparently his grandfather had taught him before he passed. Isaiah took a deep breath and shut off his alarm before it sounded, he could hear his mother moving around in the kitchen. She would probably be coming in soon just to make sure that he was awake. His eyes were already starting to feel heavy and he wasn't sure how he was going to make it through any of his classes today let alone the Tuesday practice that he had to attend tonight.

"Are you awake, sweetheart?" Carla called from the kitchen.

"Yeah, I'm up mom," he answered. Isaiah shook his head and took another deep breath trying to wake himself up a bit then went to his drawer to get out a his clothing for the day. He quickly grabbed a tee shirt and pants combo then went into the bathroom to start his shower hoping that the water would wake him up a bit. He decided not to take his usual hot shower thinking that if he got to relaxed he would end up asleep on the bathroom floor.

"I'm leaving I will see you tonight, don't forget to lock the door behind you!" called Carla.

"I won't!" Isaiah could hear the kitchen door open and shut as his mother left and he turned on the shower and stripped down. He got in the shower quickly not giving the water time to get warm giving himself a jolt and goose bumps from the cold feeling against his skin. The water slowly went from seemingly almost freezing to bearable and Isaiah began his shower routine. Holding his head under the water and watching it run down the drain. He lathered up his body with his body-wash not bothering to wash his hair since he would be showering again after the practice, he didn't see the point. Not giving himself any time to relax Isaiah rinsed the soap off and jumped out of the shower turning off the water. He quickly towelled off and got dressed, he walked out into the kitchen and looked at the clock, he still had about twenty minutes before Caleb would be there to pick him up. Isaiah decided that it wouldn't hurt for him to use a small pick me up to help stay awake for the morning. He walked over to the counter and filled a mug with some water then put it in the microwave and set the time for 3 minutes. He looked outside it looked like it was going to be a sunny day which was always good for practice. Isaiah stared out into the back yard through the kitchen making the three minutes pass quickly. The microwave beeped letting him know it was ready and he grabbed a teabag from off the counter as he walked over to it. He opened the door and took the mug out by the handle being careful not to burn himself and dropped the teabag in. Isaiah wasn't a huge fan of hot drinks in general only ever drinking his herbal green tea. He found that it helped him wake up and it made him feel like he was doing something for his body. Isaiah put the cup to his mouth and breathed in the aroma of the tea steeping the drink still far too hot for him to be able to drink it. He sat down at the table and sat his drink down waiting for it to cool.

Caleb pulled into Isaiah's yard and looked around not seeing him anywhere outside. He decided he'd wait for a few minutes to give Isaiah a chance to come outside. Caleb sat in the truck staring at the house for what felt like an eternity. He knew that the day was going to be painfully long, it had been a long time since he had pulled an all-nighter. He didn't like doing it for a few reasons, the main one being because he hated the feeling of wanting to close his eyes all the time but otherwise it was just bad for your body and he sometimes could have his father's temper and it was harder to control when he was overtired. Caleb looked at the truck clock, the face read seven forty five, he had been waiting for ten minutes. He honked his horn slightly and waited a minute still getting no response. Caleb shut the truck off and got out to go see what was taking him so long already expecting to find that Isaiah had gone to sleep on him. He walked up the stairs of the patio and put his hand on the doorknob. He looked in the door window and could see Isaiah slouched over on the chair by the sliding doors that led out onto the deck. Caleb tried to turn the doorknob and it wasn't locked so he walked into the house. He smiled at Isaiah as he stepped through the door and into the house. Not bothering to take his sneakers off, Caleb walked over and knelt down on his knee in front of Isaiah. Caleb smiled up at Isaiah hating to wake him but knowing that he had to. Caleb put his hands on Isaiah's face and kissed him rubbing his cheek with his thumb. Isaiah slowly came to and brought his hands up to Caleb's face and started to kiss him back. Caleb pulled back still smiling softly at him.

"Good morning," he whispered. Isaiah stayed silent and rubbed Caleb's face with the back of his hand smiling back at him. "Come on we have to go." Isaiah nodded as Caleb stood up in front of him and pulled him to his feet. Isaiah walked into his bedroom and came back with his back pack that he had loosely packed while they were on the phone, over his shoulder. He walked over and slipped on his sneakers and the two of them went out to the truck. Caleb got in the truck and turned the key as Isaiah got up in the passenger's seat. "Today is going to suck so bad," laughed Caleb.

"Tell me about it," Isaiah laughed with him. "Have you thought about how we're going to survive that biology class this morning?" Caleb just looked over at him with an eyebrow raised. He didn't tend to find it easy to keep his eyes open in the class when he wasn't tired let alone when he was running on no sleep.

"Yeah all I can say is, not likely."

"Alright people, turn to page three eighty seven in your text book," said Mr. Barton signalling where his lecture would be centered. The day was passing horribly slow and Isaiah and Caleb had so far both made it to the third class of the morning. They were unfortunately on their way out and into the biology class they were both dreading. Although the class was almost over it was still painful as the teacher was still lecturing. At this point the two of them were obviously exhausted and to the point that either of them could pass out any minute. Caleb was sitting behind Sheena and beside Jonathan. He watched the teacher lecture and write down points of interest on the chalk board. The words the teacher spoke were coming to him as nothing but blah blah blah's and the words on the chalk board were nothing but blurred lines and loops. Caleb was fighting to keep his eyes open knowing that if he closed them the teacher would draw attention to him and people would start to ask questions. Caleb looked down at his pen in his hand and the piece of paper in front of him knowing that he should be writing something down but at this point not sure what. He looked back up at the teacher and rested with his face in his palm playing with his pen.

Casey and Isaiah were sitting on the other side of the room Casey sitting in front of Isaiah. Casey knew that the two of them had been up late the night before, because they had both arrived together and they both seemed to be dozing in and out of reality all morning sitting in class. As the teacher wrote on the chalk board she discretely looked back at Isaiah who had his eyes almost closed but was still taking notes.

"Isaiah," she whispered causing him to widen his eyes, "what did you two do last night?" Isaiah looked at Casey caught off guard and not really liking her assumption. Even though she knew everything he still wanted to have something sacred in his relationship with Caleb.

"What do you mean, "you two"?" he whispered, "How do you know it was both of us?"

"Isaiah, look at him." Isaiah and Casey both took a short moment to look over at Caleb who was still resting his head on his hand, dozing. They watched as his head dropped quickly waking him up, he looked around the room the see if anyone had seen. Casey turned back to Isaiah with an expecting look on her face knowing that she had caught him, she raised her brow at him.

"Yeah, okay, you got me." Just then the teacher turned his attention back to the class and looked back and forth from Caleb to Isaiah. They had both been dozing all morning they each knew someone would catch them eventually.

"Isaiah, Caleb am I boring you?" he asked looking intently at each of them. "If you would like to sleep, you can sleep in the principal's office." Caleb corrected his posture and sat up straight with his eyes wide.

"No, sir. I'm sorry; didn't get much sleep last night." Caleb was almost dozing as he spoke he was exhausted, it was obvious to anyone who looked at him.

"I'm sorry, sir." Casey turned around after grabbing a pen off of Isaiah's desk to make it look like she hadn't been talking to him. She turned just in time to notice that Sheena was glaring at Isaiah. She tried to write something with the pen and looked at it frustrated, like it wasn't working and turned around again.

"Did you see that?" she whispered as she placed the pen back on his desk and turned around. Isaiah looked casually at Sheena just in time to see her look away from him. Before that he hadn't really felt worried about her but he wasn't sure what was going on in her mind now and that scared him.

"Man, I think I'm going to have to leave after this class," whispered Isaiah making up a partial excuse, "I can't keep my eyes open much longer." Isaiah was tired he certainly wasn't lying in full but the look Sheena had given him just made him want to leave more.

"Yeah, you're going to end up in pretty bad shape by the end of the day, that's for sure."

"You're telling me."

Jonathan had been watching Caleb all morning, he had never seen him so tired before and wondered why. He heard him almost fall on his desk when he fell asleep resting his head on his hand. He turned around to look at him as the teacher turned again to write something down on the chalk board. He couldn't help but think that it was pretty pathetic, his eyes were practically rolling back in his head he was so tired. It was obvious that he was forcing himself, trying to stay awake.

"Man, Caleb, what did you do last night to get so tired?" he finally asked.

"Oh, I was on the phone all night," Caleb answered half asleep.

"On the phone?" Jonathan looked at him confused not clearly caught off guard by his answer. "With who?"

"Isaiah." Caleb suddenly realized who he was talking to and what he had asked him and was jarred awake. He thought quickly as he watched the expression on Jonathan's face changing from confusion to irritation. He tried to take all the worry from his voice and bury it in the pit of his stomach before Jonathan asked his next question. Caleb already knew what it was going to be.

"Isaiah?" asked Jonathan irritated, "What the hell for?"

"Oh he's, um," Caleb started, desperately trying not to sound unsure, "going through a pretty tough time right now." Caleb watched as Jonathan cracked a smile figuring that he bought the lie.

"What happened?" he laughed quietly, "Did his boyfriend break up with him?"

"Nah, nothing like that." Caleb couldn't help but smirk at Jonathan's ignorance of the situation, that was the one thing right now that Isaiah was having absolutely no issue with. "He's just nervous about the game this weekend."

"You guys have been getting really close lately, man. You're scaring me." Caleb just looked at Jonathan for a few seconds not really sure how to respond to the statement other than reassuring.

"Nah man, he just needs a friend right now, is all, and team captain is always a friend, right?" assured Caleb. Caleb took a quick second to glance up at the clock there wasn't quite five minutes left to the class and he was starting to realize that there was no way he could finish the rest of the day. "Damn it, I need to get out of here. I need to nap." Caleb ran his hands over his face in a ditch effort to make himself feel more awake and it wasn't doing anything for him. "I can't go to practice tonight like this."

"Jonathan," said Sheena seemingly out of nowhere, "did you see Chris yet today?"

"No, not yet." Jonathan shrugged his shoulders at her. "Why?" Just then the buzzer rang signalling the end of class and Caleb let out a sigh of relief as he grabbed his books and started to put them into his pack to leave. Sheena did the same not paying anymore mind to Jonathan.

As the buzzer sounded Isaiah got up quickly, threw his books into his back pack, took out his cell phone and walked out of the classroom already dialling his mothers work number. He knew she would be on her lunch break.

"I'll talk to you tonight!" Casey called as he left the room. Isaiah hit the call button on his phone and his mother picked up after only one or two rings.

"Mom, can you come and get me? I can't keep my eyes open in class and I don't want to be too tired for practice tonight." Isaiah said quickly not even waiting to confirm if it was indeed his mother who picked up the phone. There was a bit of an awkward pause and he began to wonder if he just spouted off his business to another employee or an answering machine. He didn't call his mother's work often enough to really know what the call procedure was. Any other time he had called her she had been the one to answer giving him no reason to think that it might be another person.

"Sure, Isaiah. I'll be right there," Carla sighed from the other end of the phone. She was clearly suspicious of him for having stayed up all night, he was sure she had heard him at some point in the night, this just confirmed for her.

"Okay. I'll be waiting out front." Isaiah heard a click on the other end of the phone he knew she must have been pressed for time with her lunch hour so he just closed his phone and kept walking. The biology class he was in, was on the top floor of the building. He walked down three flights of stairs through the crowd of other students who were either on their way to the cafeteria for lunch or on their way out of the building for a cigarette break. Isaiah didn't understand why people smoked, especially teenagers. It was expensive, bad for you and aside from the bad breath that went along with it, he thought that the warning label would be enough to keep people away from it, it certainly was for him. Also he didn't understand why it was illegal for teenagers to buy them but not illegal for them to smoke them at school out in the open parking lot where he and other students would have to pass through the blue haze depending on the weather of the day. He stepped outside and thanks to the calm spring day sure enough today was one of those days he would get to sample a small part of the cigarette of roughly 40 people in front of the building. He got through the crowd and waited on the other end at the edge of the school parking lot for his mother who would be there shortly. It wasn't long before he was joined by Stephanie. She walked up beside him and took a cigarette from her purse then began to rummage through it presumably looking for a lighter.

"Shoot, do you have a lighter?" she asked giving up on her purse and looking at Isaiah.

"Oh, no," Isaiah shook his head, "I don't smoke."

"Oh, right. Damn. Sorry, guess I'll scratch that," said Stephanie putting the cigarette back in her purse in its case. Isaiah didn't understand why she just didn't ask one of the other people that were standing not ten feet from them. He also didn't know why she followed him all the way to the edge of the parking lot. "So, are you going to be at the practice tonight?"

"No choice; big game at the end of the week."

"I've already got my ticket," she smiled as she dug her ticket out of her purse and held it up to show him. "I'll be rooting for you." Stephanie giggled as she waved the ticket at him and put it back into her purse.

"Cool." Isaiah smiled at her not really sure of what to say in response to that, he had never really been talked to like a member of the team by anyone else casually. "I'll keep an eye out for you." Isaiah looked at his watch hoping that his mother would be there soon, he felt awkward around Stephanie after Friday night and the way she had been acting toward him. He also seemed to be having a hard time getting it out of his head that she was prying for something. He smiled at her and looked down the road in the direction his mother would be coming from with no sign of her. With the time on his hands he decided to do some prying of his own. "How's Sheena doing anyway," he paused waiting to see if she became defensive, she didn't, "with the whole break up thing, I mean." He looked from the road to her and back to the road again.

"She's doing okay, I think. She's focusing her energy in different directions to keep herself happy," explained Stephanie.

"That's good." Isaiah couldn't help but think of how nothing had seemed to change for Sheena as it was always herself that she was looking to keep happy.

"So I heard you had fun at the party?" Isaiah noticed a bit of a smirk on Stephanie's face as he looked at her but then turned his attention back to the road to see his mother driving up the road in her navy blue Chevrolet Cobalt.

"Yeah," he said as the blue car pulled up, "it was great but there's my ride, so I'll talk to you later." Isaiah ran over to the car quickly and got in the passenger side door. He sat down and could feel himself instantly relax almost making him want to go right to sleep in the car. "Thanks for coming to get me." Isaiah looked over at Carla and smiled.

"Of course dear, but you really do need to watch your sleeping hours," Carla put the car in drive and began on the ride home. "Certainly can't make this a regular thing."

"Hey, I hear ya," said Isaiah fastening his seatbelt, "I was up talking to Caleb on the phone, and before we both knew it, it was time to get ready for school." They drove for a few minutes in silence and Isaiah could feel his eyes closing.

"So," said Carla in an almost accusing tone. Isaiah opened his eyes and looked at her. "You seem really stricken with this Caleb boy. He seems like a good kid."

"Yeah." As Isaiah spoke he seemed to be almost in a daze as he remembered some of the conversation he and Caleb had had. Carla looked back and forth from him to the road and smiled at him.

"Worse than I thought, apparently. You know, when you came out to me and Casey last year, I was so afraid you were going to be alone forever," reminisced Carla, "This town isn't exactly what anyone would call tolerant."

"Well mom, when I'm in University next year, you won't have to worry about that at all. The town is kind of known for its population." Carla just shook her head, Isaiah knew she didn't want him to go to university far away but knew that he couldn't stay there either.

"Don't remind me, please. I'm already having a huge issue with my baby leaving the nest. I don't need to think of him being the newest piece of meat on the market, too."

"Mom! It's not like that." Isaiah was shocked having never heard his mother talk like that. He knew he was wrong but he always liked to think that she was ignorant to that part of the world.

"Don't make me do the condom rap, young man," she laughed. Isaiah looked at his mother ready to laugh with her and really not wanting to know what the condom rap even was.

"Oh my god, mom," he laughed, "Don't you dare." Carla laughed again and put her hand on his leg squeezing it playfully.

"I won't. I just like to see you squirm every now and then," she laughed. "Makes me feel powerful." The car pulled into his yard and Carla unlocked the door. "What time is practice tonight?" she asked.

"It's at six thirty." Isaiah opened the door and got out of the car. "I'll see you later," said Isaiah before shutting the door. He looked back at Carla as he walked toward the house, she smiled and waved before pulling out of the yard. All he wanted to do was go into his bedroom and shut off from the world for a few hours. He took his key from his pocket and opened the outside door, he put his key in the main door and turned it walking into the house and shutting the door behind him. Isaiah dropped his backpack on the floor by the counter and bent over to take his sneakers off. He untied them and kicked them off then walked into his bedroom leaving everything where he had dropped it and jumped onto his bed laying facedown into the pillow. He closed his eyes and started to quickly fall asleep longing for the sleep that waited for him. Just as he had fell asleep his cell phone rang from his pocket he dug it out and put it to his ear. "Hello?" he said dopily.

"I'm sorry, I just need you to keep me awake until I get home," explained an equally tired and dopey voice, "I just about fell asleep at the stop light."

"Okay, you're going home too?"

"Yeah there's no way I'm gonna make it through practice tonight like this, I'm bound to fall asleep in the shower or something." Isaiah laid over on his back and kept the phone to his ear with his eyes closed.

"That would be pretty funny though right?" He smiled as he talked thinking about Caleb laying asleep in the shower with his workout clothing on. "It'd be kinda cute too."

"Come on now, you're gonna embarrass me."

"At least I know if you're embarrassed, then you're awake."

"True." Isaiah listened as Caleb took a deep breath and sighed at the same time. "Man I can't believe I'm so tired. I feel really old. I did this once at a football camp two years ago and I felt fine all day the next day. Who would of thought two years would make this much of a difference."

"Old?" Isaiah laughed, "The only difference is that you were in school all morning, not a football camp where you're out running around all day."

"Good point," laughed Caleb quietly, "Sorry I guess I'm just stupid from being so tired."

"You're not stupid." Isaiah didn't like hearing people run themselves down in that way even if they were joking. He had heard it enough himself from other people and he knew that Caleb had the dumb jock cloud hanging over his head, but he truthfully wasn't. "Silly no doubt, but not stupid."

"Thanks babe." Caleb paused, Isaiah assumed to focus on his driving. "Thanks for talking me through this little ordeal. How about we do something tonight after the practise?"

"Okay. I really need to get to sleep now though," he laughed.

"Me too, talk to you soon okay."

"Alright." Isaiah laid his head back and closed his eyes and his phone dropping it beside him.

As Caleb pulled into his yard he hung up his phone and put it on the seat beside him. As he pulled up he could tell that his parents weren't home from the office yet but Caesars car was parked in its usual spot. Caleb parked next to the large car and got out of the truck dragging himself to the front door with his back pack hung over his shoulder. He walked up to the door of the house and walked in locking the door behind him out of habit. Caleb yawned as he bent down to untie his shoe before he noticed that Caesar was in the living room tidying up the furniture. He greeted him with the warm smile Caleb had become accustomed to.

"Long day today, master Caleb?" he asked with a somewhat sarcastic tone before looking at his watch. Caesar calling Caleb and his father master was something that Gordon had come up with for when they were having clients over. He thought that it sounded more respectful, but after having Caesar say it for awhile he became accustomed to it and then had Caesar do it almost all of the time. Caleb disliked being put above Caesar, someone who was his own blood and almost a father to him. He had protested it to his father all along but like everything else Caleb talked to his father about he never would listen to him.

"Oh hey, Tio," Caleb smiled back at him, "Yeah, more like "long night", and I told you, don't call me "master". Please?" Caleb slid his sneakers off and put them back out of the way before standing up straight.

"Yes, young one. Can I get you anything to eat?" asked Caesar.

"No thanks. I'm heading upstairs for a nap before practise tonight," said Caleb making his way over to the stairs. Caleb stopped and looked back at Caesar. "Any word from the head honcho?"

"The Masters left for the office this morning and I haven't seen them since," said Caesar shaking his head.

"Figures. Thanks, Tio." Caesar gave Caleb a nod of acknowledgement before Caleb headed upstairs to his bedroom. He walked into his bedroom and dropped his back pack at the door. The room was quiet and the sun was shining into his bedroom on the bed as if to be telling him where his place was. Caleb looked at his alarm clock knowing that how tired he was if he didn't set it he would just most likely sleep the rest of the night. He sat down on his bed with the warm sun beating against his back and picked up the clock playing with the buttons on the top of it to set it for six o'clock. Caleb looked around his room one more time before laying back on his bed. It wasn't long after his head hit the pillow that he felt relaxed enough to go to sleep and closed his eyes seemingly drifting into a deep sleep.

Jonathan was on his way home from the bus stop only a few meters from his yard when he heard his mom screaming at his step-father. She was yelling about the usual stuff they had arguments over, debt, bills, drug use and his nights out. Jonathan was sick of hearing about it, he didn't understand why his mother stayed with him, there was no point, it was clear that she didn't love him. After thinking into it in more detail it was probably due to the fact that she didn't want to be alone with him. For the time being there was only one person she hated more than her husband and that was Jonathan. He heard the door slam as he walked in the dooryard and she stood on the step looking at him with tears in her eyes holding her cell phone in her hand. Derek was nowhere to be seen so Jonathan assumed she had been yelling at him on the phone. He approached the steps and looked at his mother from the bottom of the patio.

"Are you all right?" he asked genuinely concerned. Helen stormed down the stairs and pushed passed him and got into the car. Jonathan looked back at her sitting in the car she didn't even look at him as she started the car. Jonathan walked toward the car and his mother put the car in reverse, pulling from the driveway so quick that he was sprayed with bits of gravel and dirt. Jonathan shielded his face from the debris with his elbow and watched as she took off down the street as the dust settled in the yard. Jonathan let out a sigh of depression him and his mother didn't get along and it did get to him sometimes, he would just never let anyone know. Jonathan turned to walk into his house heading up the steps and in through the front door. Jonathan slid his shoes off at the door and went down stairs to his bedroom. He had been talking to the others on the bus ride and they had made up their mind what they were going to do. Sheena had set it up but Jonathan had been planning to do something regardless of her input, he just hadn't been sure how he was going to go about it. Caleb was starting to get closer and closer to Isaiah and Jonathan was disgusted by it. Isaiah was making him angry and tonight Chris, Mike and Andrew were all going to help him do something about it. Hopefully forcing Isaiah to leave the school and not come back. After what Isaiah had said to him on the field at the last practise almost made him feel threatened and he could feel his blood rushing as he thought about it, the anger almost burning his skin. If he had of been anywhere else he would have probably knocked Isaiah out where he stood. Jonathan sat his book bag down on the floor and then sat back on his bed.

He wasn't going to only scare Isaiah he wanted to leave him with something that would haunt him for the rest of his life. Jonathan rolled over to the small drawer that sat by his bed and pulled it open, he reached in and felt around for the dagger he had gotten from his brother when he left. He looked at the dagger, the blade on it was close to eight inches with the handle the weapon was a full twelve inches. The blade reflected the sunlight that shone in through the small window above his bed, the light from it danced on the ceiling as he moved it around examining it. He had had the blade sharpened back when hunting season was in effect but he and Derek had never made it out to actually hunt. The handle on it was black and with silver and golden lining on the edge, at the base of the blade there was a lion insignia and the wings were golden lion heads. Jonathan felt anxious as he ran his hand over the length of the blade thinking about what he was going to do with it. He could feel his heart racing as he thought about it, excited almost like he was waiting to open a present or something. Jonathan got up off of his bed and put the dagger in his duffle bag. Since there was virtually no security aside from the faculty, that would only look at suspiciously if someone brought their attention to you. If someone ever decided to shoot up the place then they would probably get everyone they were after. Thinking about it made Jonathan happy it was going to be his last year there.

Isaiah opened his eyes his alarm on his phone sounding telling him it was somewhere around six o clock. He sat up and shut the alarm off, the room was slightly dark telling him that the nice weather had faded. He got up off the bed and walked out to the kitchen to get his backpack. The coach had asked them to bring their uniforms so he would have to pack his clothing for after and wear it to the practise. He picked up his backpack and took it back into his room. His mother was sitting in the living room watching a talk-show something she did quite frequently after work when she wasn't reading or doing a crossword.

"Are you going to eat something before you go?" she called from the living room.

"No, I'm not really hungry," answered Isaiah. Isaiah took his books out of his backpack and sat them on his shelf with his textbooks from other years. He started keeping his textbooks in the eighth grade, it made him feel like he could at least take some of his memories with him from school that didn't involve being teased. Now that he was in his last year he was finally starting to make some memories involving people other than Casey that were worth remembering. Isaiah took the clothing for after the game out of his closet and put them into his empty backpack. He already had some of his clothing at the gym in his locker mostly just something he would wear working out. He left it there in case he didn't have time to pack or had forgotten his work out clothing. Isaiah took his shirt off and dropped it on the floor, reaching into the closet for his football jersey and his pants. They didn't typically wear the pads for practise other then the cup and knee pads. Isaiah took his pants off and put his cup into his underwear and fit it to himself. He slid on the bottom half of his uniform and put on his back pack walking out into the kitchen. "I'm ready when you are." Carla shut the television off and stood up heading toward the door.

"You're going in early?" Carla asked confused. Isaiah usually would put off going in to the game as long as he could, but now that he was with Caleb it wouldn't be that bad.

"Yeah I guess," said Isaiah as he bent down to put on his sneakers. Carla slid on her sandals and waited for Isaiah to finish getting his sneakers on.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Isaiah stood up and smiled at his mother as he threw his backpack over his shoulder, "That nap was just what I needed I feel really refreshed." Isaiah walked out of the house ahead of his mother and got into the car passenger seat. Carla got in the car and put the key in the ignition then started to drive Isaiah to practise like she often did. "So I don't need you to come and get me after, okay?" said Isaiah.

"Oh really?" asked Carla sounding almost suspicious. She looked over at him from the corner of her eye clearly waiting for further explanation. Isaiah smiled at her as he started to talk.

"Yeah, Caleb and I are going to get together after practise not sure what for yet," he explained.

"What time will you be home? I hope you don't plan on pulling another all nighter. You certainly can't keep that up." It wasn't often that Isaiah had to worry about his curfew since he was hardly ever out of the house other than for school and practise so this was something new to him.

"I was thinking eleven latest, but I might just end up staying the night."

"Is that so?" Isaiah recognized the tone his mother was using, she only used it when he was assuming he could do something before actually asking her. "I don't know if that's really appropriate yet Isaiah."

"Okay, so can I stay with him until eleven?" Isaiah paused, "I'm sorry I'm just really excited to be able to have another night with him." Carla's expression changed back to her usual soft expression.

"I know honey, it's okay," she said with her tone matching her facial expression. "Just make sure you let me know. Eleven is fine." Isaiah smiled to himself getting a slight feeling of excitement come over him. They drove the rest of the short trip in silence, it wasn't before long that they were pulling into their destination. The car pulled into the parking lot of the high school gym, they were one of probably five cars there. Jonathan pulled in the yard at the same time as they did and Caleb or his truck was nowhere to be found. "Be careful out there and have fun tonight," said Carla.

"Thanks mom," said Isaiah as he got out of the car and shut the door. He watched as his mother pulled away then looked around as Jonathan got out of his car. He stood up and threw his duffle bag over his arm and glared at him with an uncomfortable darkness in his eyes. Something in him that Isaiah hadn't seen before. Jonathan walked in ahead of him and Isaiah could feel his excitement slowly turning into anxiety. With Caleb not being there, there really wasn't much stopping them from harassing him. Isaiah took out his phone and dialled Caleb's number as he slowly made his way to the locker room. He let ring until the answering machine pick up and hung up, thinking that maybe Caleb was already inside his phone in his locker where he wouldn't hear it. Isaiah walked into the locker room, most of the team had turned out again so far but Caleb wasn't there. The coach stood in the middle of the room waiting for them to get into their game uniform. Isaiah walked over to his usual locker and started to put his stuff away, he noticed that Caleb's locker hadn't been disturbed, he really wasn't there.

"Alright ladies," called Coach Adams, "Today we're going to be running the drills! So get your shit together and get on the field it's all set up and waiting for you."

"Where's the big C today Coach?" asked Mike sliding his shirt over his head.

"I've called him and can't get him I'm assume something big came up, he never misses a practise."

"Maybe Isaiah knows where he is!" laughed Jonathan. Isaiah looked from Jonathan to the coach quickly, the coach was staring right at him. He swallowed hard as the coach spoke.

"Well have you?" he asked. Isaiah didn't speak and just shook his head no. He felt small knowing that the coach wouldn't stick up for him, ever, he didn't know what Coach Adams had against him. If he didn't want him on the team all he had to do was cut him, at this point he felt it was already the end of the year so he didn't have to worry about it anyway it was only going to be a few more weeks.

Isaiah had made it to the last fifteen minutes of the training without any real incident occurring. There really hadn't been much time to allow for one, the coach had them running the obstacle course for the entire time. The course was something Isaiah didn't mind too much but when they had been repeating it for an entire training session without really stopping it was definitely a challenge. It was mostly a speed and coordination based course with tires to run through, if he didn't get a good rhythm going then he would most likely fall and cause the six guys behind him to fall on top of him and then have the coach yelling at him. Next came the hurdles, there was eight of them, they had to jump over one and dive under the next and if your timing was off then you would find yourself in yet another pile up. On the last hurdle they had to take a dash at a wall that was about six feet tall and climb up over then they would come to a set of bars that they had to grab jump up and grab hold of and climb across the way using their upper body strength to keep themselves from falling. If they were to fall then the coach would make them go back to the beginning and start over again. Finally in the end they would come to a checking dummie that the coach wanted them to hit to his satisfaction. At this point if the coach was happy with your check then you continued on. Isaiah wasn't much of a body check type person on the count of his smaller stature and the coach would often make him go back three of four times. This was the order that the coach had been making them repeat for the last forty-five minutes. All the while screaming at them to push harder and harder, sometimes the coaches face would get so red that Isaiah would think his head was about to pop off his shoulders.

"Come on you bunch of sissy's, I know you can do better than that!" he screamed and blew his whistle. Isaiah's uniform was soaked and he was looking forward to his shower afterword. The weather had gotten cooler and it had ended up being a rather dark day. The cool air didn't bother Isaiah because he was sweating, all in all it was good weather for training. They had spent a lot of days out in the hot sun training where Isaiah thought he was going to get sun stroke or heat exhaustion, he much preferred the cool air in this case. Throughout the entire practice he had been wondering about Caleb, the coach had made several calls to his cell phone and couldn't reach him. It would have to be something really big to keep Caleb from coming to practice not much would. Isaiah was worried that it might have something to do with Sheena showing up at his place in some last desperate attempt to get him back. Or even worse to show up to do something to him for not coming back to him. Isaiah knew that at this point Caleb would never go back to Sheena although he wasn't entirely sure that she had accepted that fact yet. Although it did seem like she was into Chris now, maybe she would just leave them alone. Getting lost in his thoughts in the tire portion of the track was probably not the smartest thing Isaiah had done in awhile. He lost his rhythm and down he went taking four other people with him the others managing to stop. "Argent!" yelled Adams, "What the hell is wrong with you?" The others that had fallen on top of him slowly got themselves to their feet. From the impact however Isaiah had gotten winded and couldn't catch his breath barely able to speak. The others kept on going and the coach helped Isaiah out of the way as he tried to breath in to get his breath back.

"Way to go fag!" Isaiah heard from the other side of the course. He looked up to see Jonathan stopped and looking in his direction. He looked up at the coach who stood looking down at him as he cradled his stomach trying to catch his breath. Isaiah looked back down at the ground feeling a sudden humiliation come over him as he started to really wish that Caleb was there.

"Back to the laps Tanner!" Coach Adams yelled looking in Jonathan's direction. He looked down at Isaiah and knelt down. "You gonna be alright, kid?" he asked. Isaiah was almost confused, he sounded like he was genuinely concerned.

"Thanks I'll be okay, as soon as I catch my breath," explained Isaiah.

"Okay, take five." Coach Adams patted Isaiah on the shoulder and stood up heading back to the course to keep an eye on the other players as they did their laps. Isaiah stood up slowly and walked over to the bench and sat down leaning his head back still not really able to get his breathing where he wanted it to be. The sweat was still running from his forehead and he was pretty sure that he was going to be sore the next day. It had been awhile since the coach had pushed them this hard, but given that the next game would be the last of the season it was to be expected. Isaiah grabbed his bottle of water off the stand and unscrewed the cap, he took a drink of it and sat it on the bench next to him. Several minutes passed but he was able to catch his breath back and get his breathing to wear he wanted it before he would head back onto the field for more running. Isaiah glanced at the field clock there was only a few more minutes left to the session and it was about seven fifteen, he decided that he would just sit the rest of it out. He sat still thinking of Caleb and where they would go after practise assuming that their date was still on. Isaiah couldn't wait to kiss him again, kissing had quickly become one of Isaiah's favourite things to do. He smiled as he thought about when he heard a whistle blow snapping him back to reality. "Alright boys hit the showers you're done for the day." Isaiah watched as the rest of the team walked toward the locker rooms when Stephanie sat down beside him.

"How was practise?" she asked as she sat down.

"Good, I guess," said Isaiah flashing her a quick grin then looking away watching the coach walk into his office, "No better or worse than usual." Isaiah really didn't understand why Stephanie was suddenly so fascinated with him, before he went to the party she had never even really spoken to him and now she was hanging around the field waiting to be able to talk to him.

"Cool, then you got a good sleep in this afternoon I guess, huh?" she giggled.

"Yeah, it was a pretty awesome snooze," Isaiah laughed quietly looking at the clock again. He decided he would see if he could pry some information out of her since she was there. "I wonder where Caleb was today. It's really not like him to miss practise."

"Yeah, I noticed that," said Stephanie her expression as full of thought as she could probably get, "I think Sheena was going to check his house just to make sure that he was okay. I mean, the team captain missing the practise never looks good, right?" Stephanie laughed

"Yeah, I hear ya." Isaiah had a hard time believing that Sheena could feel any concern for anyone other than herself. "Is that gonna be okay, you think, with her going over there?" Isaiah looked at her waiting for any type of hint that she was lying as he tried to read her expression.

"Well, I think they're okay with each other as far as talking. She's just concerned, is all," she explained with Isaiah looking on, "Her and Chris, I think, are about to get pretty serious." Isaiah felt a feeling of relief wash over him as the words left her mouth, he didn't hear any deception in her voice but decided to dig a bit deeper.

"Oh yeah? Chris would do that?"

"Well, apparently he asked Caleb about it at some point and he didn't seem to mind." Stephanie shrugged her shoulders and moved in a little bit closer to Isaiah.

"I don't know. It just seems a little disrespectful I guess, especially when it's so soon after the fact." Isaiah couldn't help but almost feel like a hypocrite as he spoke but continued on anyway. "I mean, it has only been two days and, after three years, that's not really a lot of time," he explained. "What do you think? Put yourself in Caleb's shoes. What if Sheena decided to date an ex of yours right after you broke up?" Isaiah watched as a confused expression came across Stephanie's face.

"I never really thought about it. I know she wouldn't do it to me, so no point thinking about that right?" Isaiah almost couldn't stand the sound of Stephanie's voice anymore, he couldn't believe how ignorant she seemed to be. If Sheena thought she would benefit he knew that she would throw her friends under the bus in a heartbeat.

"Theoretically?" Stephanie's expression went dumbfounded at Isaiah's choice of words.

"What?" she said blankly.

"Um, never mind." The conversation went silent for what seemed like several minutes Stephanie watched as several of the team walked out of the locker rooms. They had been talking for almost fifteen minutes.

"So, you have a university all lined up?" she asked in a flirty tone.

"Yeah, you?" Isaiah shook his head.

"I'm going to be an interior designer. I'm taking an interior decorating course at a trade school." Stephanie's choice of career came as no surprise to Isaiah or anyone else that might talk to her. There wasn't much else he could see her doing beyond arts and crafts.

"Cool, so you'll be out and working in a year or so, huh?"

"I hope so." Stephanie watched as what looked like the rest of the team walk out of the locker rooms. Isaiah turned and looked back at them as well realizing that he had to get going.

"Well Stephanie, it's been nice chatting, but it's going to be dark soon. I have to shower and head home," explained Isaiah as he stood up and stretched a little bit.

"Alright, I'll talk to you tomorrow or something," she said as she stood up to leave, "See you later." Stephanie walked away looking back to smile and wave at Isaiah. Isaiah waved back to her relieved that their conversation was finally over.

Isaiah walked toward the locker room looking at his cell phone it was already eight pm he didn't realize that he and Stephanie had been sitting there for a half an hour. Isaiah walked into the locker room and as the door closed behind him he realized that the rest of the team had left. He walked toward his locker and heard what sounded like something falling, he turned and looked around at the lockers not seeing any movement.

"Hello?" he called out before heading deeper into the locker room, "I'd hate to think that was a rat." He recalled that a few years back when he first started into high school that there had been a problem with rats, though they supposedly cleaned it up. Isaiah made it to his locker and opened it up looking in as he started to take his shirt off. He lifted the shirt over his head and threw it into the locker as it hit the locker, he heard a locker door close from the row of lockers on the opposite wall that his was on. "Hello?" Isaiah looked around again not sure what to expect, something felt wrong to him but his curiosity got the best of him and he walked toward the noise. Isaiah walked around the corner and there were four boys in masks standing in front of the lockers with one still crawling out of one of them. Isaiah could see a plan unfolding in front of him that he had somehow been webbed into. He looked at each one of them they were each holding a weapon of fashion. One held a metal baseball bat, another holding a wooden one, Isaiah watched as the third one clenched his fist and punched it into his hand. Isaiah looked at the last one, there was a sense of familiar terror that washed over him as he looked at the person when he caught the glimmer of a knife hanging out of a black belt he had around his waist. "Who're you?" Isaiah asked shaken. None of them answered and started to walk towards him slowly. "Okay, I don't want to cause any trouble. I can just leave." Each of the dark figures seem to relax for a split second, they were dressed all in black, with hooded sweaters and black jogging pants with a black ski mask covering their face. Isaiah reached for his cell phone and took it out and hit the speed dial to Caleb's cell phone. Just as he hit the call button the four boys rushed him against the wall and knocked the cell phone from his hand, sending it scuffling across the locker room floor. One of them kept him pinned against the wall holding their arm against his throat starring him in the face. Isaiah could feel tears starting to well up in his eyes as the realization of the danger he was in started to sink in. He didn't know who these boys were and couldn't understand what he had done for them to attack to him. All he wished for was to have Caleb walk in and save him from whatever was about to happen. "Please don't hurt me I'll give you anything you want. Please!" cried Isaiah in desperation. Isaiah watched as they looked at each other, then the one holding him against the wall backed off standing about a foot from him. Isaiah felt a rush of slight relief come over him as they backed away from him, hoping that what was happening was almost over. "Thank you," he whined. The one with the knife suddenly punched Isaiah in the stomach knocking him to his knees. "No, please don't!" he cried. Isaiah attempted to get to his feet getting on his hands and knees when Chris kicked him in the rips, Andrew quickly followed by hitting him with the wooden baseball bat on the back.

The pain shot through Isaiah's body in what felt like bolts of lightning crashing through him. He had never been in a physical fight before, having always managing to talk his way out of it. He had never felt this kind of pain before, he felt a sudden blow to his side and could taste the sudden taste of copper in his mouth. He spit it out of his mouth as he realized it was blood. He starred at it briefly, the sight of his own blood brought him almost into a state of panic as another blow landed this time on the other side. Most likely a foot as it was too big to be a hand, one of the attackers had kicked him in the stomach knocking the wind out of him. Isaiah fell from his hands and knees and lay on the ground gasping for air letting out another cry in pain as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He had hoped that it would be Caleb helping him up to give him a hug and tell him that everything was going to be okay. But it was one of his attackers, he pulled him to his feet and gave him another quick punch in the face sending him again to the ground. Isaiah hit the ground once again on all fours, he let out a cough as he gasped for air and could feel the taste of blood in his mouth getting thicker. He spit the blood on the floor in front of him and starred at it trying to lose himself in the puddle to mentally escape the situation. When suddenly the attacker with the knife in his belt kicked him in the stomach again several times what must of been as hard as he could. When he stopped he grabbed him by the hair of his head and pulled him to his feet. Isaiah could feel blood trickling down his forehead when the attacker took the knife from his belt and put it up to his face as if to taunt him with it. He looked into his attackers eyes as he pressed the blade of the knife flat against his cheek and slid it down his face. The cold metal touching his face made Isaiah sick with fear. Tears flowed freely from his eyes streaking his face and mixing with the blood from his forehead, he could feel it trickling to the floor. He couldn't see the face of his attacker but he could tell from his eyes that he was smiling clearly enjoying what he was doing.

"No," Isaiah gasped and struggled to speak as he gradually got his breath back," please don't kill me." Suddenly one of the attackers to his left sucker punched him across his face, knocking him unconscious. Isaiah collapsed to the floor with a thud. Even though unconscious Isaiah was still aware of what was going on around on some level. He felt as someone placed there hand on his side and rolled his limp body onto his back. He laid there feeling like he was in a deep dream state where he was able to faintly make out what was going on around him but he wasn't able to move or take action.

"Good, now for the finishing touch," said a muffled, slightly familiar voice. Isaiah suddenly felt a sharp, cold pain on his chest what must have been the knife carving deep into his flesh.

"Careful! We don't wanna kill him," spoke another muffled voice. Isaiah felt a swift pain in his side and could feel motion that was most likely him being kicked back on to his stomach. He laid there as he was sure that all the motion around him stopped, he was sure that his ordeal was now over. Isaiah laid there for what seemed like a couple of minutes before slipping into an unaware state of unconsciousness.

The four attackers had long left as nine 'o'clock quickly approached. Isaiah lied on the locker room floor in a pool of almost dried blood on his stomach. His face pressed against the cold floor. He opened his eyes to the silence of the locker room the only noise to be heard, the hum of the fluorescent lights, he could feel the blood that had now dried to his forehead. Still groggy he began to lift himself off of the floor he lifted his head and was almost stuck to the floor because of the pool of blood around him. He looked down at the blood and suddenly the pain and memory of the nights events had returned to him all at once. He let out a small whimper in pain as he started to lift himself but got the rest of the way in silence. As he got to his feet he looked down at himself blood covered his chest arms and face. His pants had soaked up a fair amount as well he could feel them heavy with liquid. Isaiah tried to push the pain from his mind and continue about his routine, he walked over to his locker and took out his towel. Isaiah could feel a weakness rushing through him most likely from the blood loss but wanted to get out and get to his date with Caleb. He slowly walked to the shower dragging himself along but trying not to pass out. As he walked slowly he came to the large mirror that the football team would fix themselves up in, he tries not to look at himself but catches a glimpse of his chest and what they had done to him. They had carved the word "FAG" into his chest in large capital letters that stood about nine inches tall. Isaiah felt his emotions come to a head and broke down into a full cry.

"Oh my god!" he almost screamed crying. Isaiah starred at the wound that was still slowly oozing blood, he could see that some of the blood had dried and was crusted around it. He looked away from the mirror sobbing and breathing erratically not able to control his emotions. He wasn't sure at this point if he felt more physical pain or emotional from what they had done to him. Never before had he felt so belittled or degraded, never had he felt so hated in his life and he was still not sure how anyone could hate him so much to do something so vile to him. He slowly made his way to the shower he stepped in and turned on the water, he waited for a second as he stared blankly to let the water warm up before stepping in, not bothering to remove his pants. He looked down at the floor of the shower and watched as the water soaked into his pants and then swirled down the drain. He watched as the water washed over his body taking the blood down the drain and revealing the deep lacerations of the word in his skin as the crusted blood flaked away. He fell to the ground in agony from the wounds inflicted on him crying out loudly in pain. Hoping that someone or anyone would hear him but no one came.

Caleb still lay in bed sleeping having set his alarm clock wrong. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at his alarm clock seeing the red numbers indicating that it was quarter after nine. A rush of panic came over him as he quickly jumped up.

"Oh, are you friggin kidding me?" he said in frustration as he picked up his alarm clock to check it over. "Why didn't the damn thing go off!" Caleb pushed down on the alarm button to check the setting. "A.M., great!" Caleb sat down his alarm clock and picked up his cell phone there were calls from almost everyone on the team and one message. Caleb put his sneakers on quickly that sat next to his bed, he knew that practise was long over but wanted to go to make sure Isaiah hadn't waited for him. Also thinking about the message on the phone, not wanting to check it because of what it might be. "Great, that'll be the coach bitching me out." Caleb ran quickly down the stairs the house was still quiet his Tio had probably already left for the evening as the lights were mostly off. With the phone to his ear he grabbed his keys off the hall table and walked out to his truck and got in. He drove off in the truck after calling his answering machine. He had one hand on the steering wheel the other held his cell phone up in front of him as he drove and pushed buttons on his cell phone.

"You have one new voice message. Press "three" to listen or," said the female automated voice. Caleb pushed down on the number three with his thumb cutting her off as he often did and put the phone to his ear. For split second there was no sound then the sound of plastic scuffing on a cement floor blared from his phone, Caleb reeled away from the phone and looked at it confused.

"Ah, what the hell?" he said then slowly put the phone to his ear again, this time ready to pull away if it happened again.

"Please don't hurt me. I'll give you anything you want." Caleb felt his heart sink into his stomach at the sound of distress in Isaiah's voice. He listened on there was a short pause. "Please!" There was another short pause as Caleb could hear a grim situation unfolding. "Thank you." Isaiah had a sound of slight relief in his voice but then there was suddenly a sound of sneakers scuffling and squeaking on the floor. "Ah," Isaiah cried out, "No please don't."

"End of messages," said the automated voice as Caleb threw the phone on the seat next to him and pushed down on the gas pedal. He didn't know what had happened exactly but he knew that Isaiah needed him. Caleb drove as fast as he could without losing control of the vehicle. He had a potent fear sitting on his chest like a heavy anvil and he couldn't shake it. He quickly grabbed the phone off the seat again and dialled Isaiah's number. He put the phone to his ear and let it ring several times.

"Come on, pick up, pick up!" In frustration Caleb again threw the phone to the seat and could feel tears welling up in his eyes as the fear got heavier and reality started to set in. "Shit!" It wasn't long before Caleb pulled into the parking lot quickly and carelessly mounting a curb on the way in. The truck came to a full stop diagonally across several spaces in the lot. Caleb quickly jumped out of the truck and began to run slamming the door behind him. "Isaiah!" Caleb dashed to the locker room and burst through the door. Caleb immediately noticed the blood on the floor and the smell of blood still permeated the air making him feel almost sick to his stomach. He was holding back tears as he looked around at the floor noticing the bloody footprints leading away from the pool and around the corner where Isaiah's locker would be. Caleb walked quickly along the path of bloody footprints almost expecting to find Isaiah's dead body at the end of them. "Shit," he murmured as he walked. He continued along the spattering of footprints. It was easy to tell that the person who left them was disoriented as they were uneven and some had been dragged. He could hear the shower still running as he got closer to it. He walked pass the mirror and made it to the shower, he stopped for a second and took a deep breath and swallowed hard. He could hear a faint sniffling over the sound of the water running. At the sound Caleb rushed around the corner to see Isaiah laying in the fetal position against the wall crying. Caleb ran to him and almost dived next to him. "Isaiah," he cried out, "what the hell happened to you?!" Isaiah slowly raised his head and looked Caleb in the eye and suddenly through his arms around him, burying his face into Caleb's shoulder, crying loudly. Caleb gently rubbed his head and fought back tears staying strong for the both of them while he held onto Isaiah as tight as he could not wanting to let him go. Caleb leaned into the water as he gripped onto Isaiah the water had began to run cold so he could tell that Isaiah had been there for at least a half an hour, knowing that was the amount of time it took for the hot water to shut off. "It's okay. I'm here now," he comforted. The running water was starting to soak through all of his clothing and Caleb could feel it sticking to him and getting heavy, but he didn't care he wasn't going to let him go.

"I, I..." Isaiah stuttered struggling to speak.

"Shhh. It's okay; don't speak. Let's get you out of here. We need to take you to a doctor." Caleb could only imagine the damage that had been done to Isaiah to have lost that much blood and knew that he needed to be checked over by a doctor. He didn't want to say anything but there could be internal damage. Isaiah suddenly gasped for air and coughed up blood, then hugged Caleb tighter.

"No. No hospital." Caleb stood up and slowly pulled Isaiah to his feet and noticed the wound carved into Isaiah's chest. Suddenly overcome with anger as he realized why whoever had attacked him did this he only wanted to know one thing.

"Isaiah, who the fuck did this to you?" Caleb didn't know who would be so bold but he wanted them to pay. He could feel an almost uncontrollable rage build inside of him that he hadn't felt before, but now was not the time to feel that he had to get Isaiah out of there.

"I don't know. They just came out of nowhere when I was about to shower," cried Isaiah. Caleb got Isaiah to lean on him with his arm over his shoulder to support him.

"Can you stand?"

"My side is really hurting," said Isaiah touching his other hand to his side. "They kicked me when they knocked me down."

"Okay, come with me. Let's at least get you into some clean cloths." Caleb helped Isaiah slowly over to his locker. "Here, sit for a second." He helped Isaiah sit on the bench and looked into his locker grabbing the first thing he saw; a zip up sweater with a hood on it and a pair of jogging pants. "Here, put these on." Caleb held out the clothes to him and Isaiah reached out and took them from him. Isaiah slowly pulled his pants off then struggled to get the others on for a few seconds letting out a sigh in frustration mixed in with sniffles and tears. Caleb watched him briefly then took the pants from him to help him get them on. Caleb kneeled down in front of Isaiah and physically put his pants on him. Caleb felt as Isaiah slouched over onto him he could feel an aura of depression coming from him as he had literally had his spirit beaten out of him. Caleb pulled back and still kneeling in front of him tried to look him in the eye and put his hand on Isaiah's cheek.

"It's gonna be okay, babe. Look at me." Isaiah looked Caleb in the face tears still streaking his face. "We're going to find who did this to you. Okay?" Caleb reassured him but Isaiah just nodded staying silent, then in one sudden movement put on his sweater and zipped it up. He tried to stand up on his own but couldn't maintain his balance. "I swear." Caleb helped him up and walked him out to the truck slowly helping him up inside. "Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital? What if they really damaged something that you can't feel?" said Caleb worried. Isaiah got up in truck and sat down, he slowly shook his head no. Caleb pushed the door to the truck shut and walked around to the other side. He got up in the truck pulled the door shut and looked over at him. "Okay. Do you want me to take you home or do you wanna come with me for the night?" Caleb wasn't really sure why he was giving him the option there was no way he was letting him go anywhere before he took him to the emergency room. If he let him do anything else he wouldn't be very responsible.

"Can I stay with you? I don't want my mom to see me like this. She'll worry too much," wined Isaiah quietly. Caleb looked at him for a second then shook his head.

"I'm sorry, you need to let a doctor look at you. You've lost way to much blood. I'm taking you to the hospital." Caleb starts the truck and puts it in gear and starts to back out of the crooked parking space he made.

"Caleb, please," he cried, "Can we please just go back to your house?" It hurt for Caleb to deny Isaiah what he wanted right now but he knew what he had to do.

"Isaiah you know as well as I do this is what we need to do right now." Isaiah was clearly upset as he looked away but seemed to accept the inevitable, he had to know that Caleb was doing it this way because he cared so much for him.

"I know." Caleb watched as Isaiah turned his head and sunk down into his seat staring out the window. It was clear that his self confidence had hit a new low as the result of the attack. All that ran through Caleb's mind was hope that nothing was seriously wrong other then what he could see visibly. It wrenched Caleb's heart to even look at Isaiah right now, he hated looking at the cuts and bruises on his face and the bruising was already starting to form. Caleb had a sneaking suspicion that it had been Jonathan that did this but couldn't bear the thought that his former best friend had it in him to be so hateful. For now he would put it out of his mind and worry about what he could do right now. He had started to drive toward the hospital which was relatively close, like any other hospital the ER would be open but he wasn't sure how long they would wait to be cared for. The hospital in town wasn't known for its efficiency or bedside manner. As he drove Caleb glanced at Isaiah and then back to the road, he was hoping that when he got to the hospital he would wake up in his bed and it would all be a nightmare. Strathecona was the type of town that shut down at nine o clock. The dimly lit streets were pretty much bare with the exception of a couple of stray teenagers or the odd pedestrian out walking their dog. Caleb figured he would get there as quick as he could turning on the four way flashers on his truck letting other drivers know that it was an emergency and sped up. "You're going to get us pulled over," said Isaiah quietly most likely trying to delay getting to the hospital.

"Don't worry about it." It didn't take any time to get the hospital and Caleb pulled into the emergency zone where he put the truck in park. He jumped out of the vehicle and quickly went around and opened the door for Isaiah slowly helping him over to a nearby bench. "Wait here for me I'm gonna go park the truck out of the way." Caleb quickly hopped in the truck and drove over to the visitor parking that was only a few yards away. Caleb jumped out of the truck and ran over to Isaiah. Caleb took Isaiah's hand and rested his arm over his back and helped him into the emergency room. They walk up to the receptionist who was staring intently at her computer screen typing at something. They stand for a couple of minutes waiting for her to acknowledge them. Caleb became irritated quickly with her this was what they were known for and tonight didn't seem like it was going to be any different. Finally, Caleb cleared his throat to get her attention.

"Name, please?" she asked mildly irritated. Her gaze still did not falter from her computer screen as Caleb spoke.

"Isaiah Argent." Caleb felt Isaiah's weight shift and turned his attention to him.

"Can I sit down?" asked Isaiah quietly and clearly in pain.

"Of course." Caleb grabbed a close by chair and pulled it over to them and helped Isaiah sit down slowly.

"What are you in for tonight, Mister Argent?" The receptionist still did not look away from her screen as she clicked her computer mouse a couple of times.

"He was beaten up," said Caleb blatantly the irritation showing through in his voice. The receptionist looked up at the two of them and Caleb watched as the expression on her face changed from boredom to surprise. It was clear that she did not expect it to be quite as serious as she looked up to find. Isaiah's sweater was slightly wet and discoloured from the blood, his face still streaked with tears.

"Oh. Oh my, I'm sorry, my dear!" she said apologetic, "Go have a seat. Make sure he's comfortable. Are you still bleeding anywhere." The receptionist put on her glasses and looked him over quickly from her desk.

"No, I think it stopped." Caleb could hear the strain in Isaiah's voice as he spoke it was clear he was in pain.

"Okay, dear. Go sit down. I'll have a doctor with you very shortly," she assured.

"Thank you," said Caleb giving her a small smile in thanks, "Over here." Caleb carefully helped Isaiah to his feet and guided him into the waiting room helping him get seated in a double chair. Caleb sat down next to him. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah, that's good," whispered Isaiah. Isaiah laid his head onto Caleb's chest and seemed to cuddle into him. Caught off guard at first Caleb looked at him for a brief few seconds, then put his arm around him. Caleb sat for a few minutes just listening to Isaiah's breathing, it was erratic telling him the agony was still there.

"So, do you know who did this to you?" asked Caleb suddenly having the question pop into his head. The receptionist glances in at them sitting together giving a confused look at the two of them sitting the way they were.

"There were four of them. They didn't say anything," Isaiah recalled, "Only thing I can tell you is that I know I've seen one of them before. They all had masks on but I could see his eyes." Caleb could feel as Isaiah put his arm across his stomach and held onto him, he could tell that Isaiah was uncomfortable talking about it but didn't want him to lose any important details.

"Would you know if you saw them again?" he asked.

"I think so."

"Do you remember what they were wearing?" Caleb pushed.

"The masks were red and yellow," Isaiah paused as he remembered the image of the masks then squeezed his eyes shut and let out a deep breath, "Can we not talk about it right now? I don't wanna think about it." Isaiah squeezed part of Caleb's shirt tightly in his hand.

"Okay I'm sorry. I just don't want you to forget anything that might be important for when we talk to the police." Caleb paused and looked at his watch it was after ten and Isaiah's mother had no idea what had happened yet. "You should call your mom, though. She's going to wonder where you are."

"Yeah." Isaiah reached into his pocket instinctively looking for his cell phone forgetting that he had changed his pants and that his phone was on the floor of the locker room somewhere. "Oh shoot." Isaiah sat up and flinched in pain cradling the side where they had kicked him. Caleb sat forward quickly in the chair.

"What? Are you okay?" he asked urgently.

"Yeah, but my cellphone . . . I think it's still on the floor in the locker room."

"We'll get it tomorrow." Caleb stood up and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. "Here, use mine." The receptionist notices the cell phone and stands up at her desk.

"You can't use that in here!" she called. Caleb glared back at her knowing that she wouldn't do anything about it. Isaiah dialled the number and put the phone to his ear.

"Thank you." Caleb smiled at him as he sat back down and rested a comforting arm on his back. "Hey, Mom." Caleb couldn't hear Carla speaking on the other end. "I know I'm late. I'm sorry I didn't call earlier, but some stuff came up. I'm with Caleb now." As Isaiah spoke he looked up at Caleb. "I'm going to stay the night if that's okay." Isaiah paused for what was presumably some kind of short lecture about spending the night together. "Thanks mom I'll see you tomorrow after school." There was another short pause Caleb was still unable to make out what Carla was saying but could mostly tell from Isaiah's side of the conversation. "Love you too, mom. See you then." Isaiah closed the phone and handed it back to Caleb who looked down at his blood-soaked shirt.

"How does it feel?" he asked with concern.

"It hurts so much I can't even explain it to you and I feel really light headed." Isaiah looked down at his chest then back up to Caleb as he spoke.

"That has to be from the blood loss." Caleb quickly looked around the room for some kind of vending machine. "You should eat something." Caleb stood up to look for something when a nurse walked into the room from the hallway.

"Oh my," she said quietly caught off guard at Isaiah's appearance, "Um, Isaiah Argent?" Caleb took Isaiah's hand and helped him to his feet.

"Yeah, that's us. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." Isaiah put his arm around Caleb and they followed the nurse into one of the examination rooms. They walk in to find another nurse sitting at the desk looking at the ledger.

"Who assaulted you? They were pretty brutal." Caleb glared at her insensitivity to the situation as he helped Isaiah up onto the examination bed.

"You have no idea," he said before turning to Isaiah. "Are you comfortable?"

"Yes." Isaiah looked down at his sweater. "I need to get this thing off, though. I think it's sticking to me."

"Here," said the nurse picking up a hospital gown, "you can put this on." Caleb took the open backed gown from her and put it down on the bed.

"I'll help you take it off," said Caleb as he placed his hands on the zipper. Isaiah grabbed Caleb's hands before he began to move the zipper.

"Go slow."

"Alright." Caleb began to lower the zipper slowly looking back and forth between Isaiah's face and the zipper. At this point the sweater was soaked and as he peeled it away from Isaiah's skin he could hear the wetness of it peeling off his skin. The gouges were oozing. The nurse looked at him horrified at what she saw, Caleb was pretty sure this was a unique situation at least for this hospital.

"Oh my gosh. I'll get the doctor. That's going to need to be stitched right away." The nurse sat the ledger down on the desk and hurried out hopefully to return with the doctor. Caleb took the sweater and sat it on the bed next to Isaiah as he remembered why he had originally stood up in the first place.

"I'll be right back, Isaiah. I'm gonna grab some food out of one of the vending machines." Caleb gave Isaiah a comforting smile and backed out of the room. He walked the short distance to the vending machine back in the reception area. He looked at the selections through the glass of the vending machine. There wasn't much to choose from other then chips and other assorted bagged treats. He was happy he wasn't looking for something healthy he thought that at a hospital there might be a healthy choice but there was nothing. Caleb put in some change from his pocket and selected a bag of chocolate cookies. Sugar was what Isaiah would need to perk him up a bit. Caleb grabbed the cookies as they fell in the bin and started to look through the drinks available it was a pretty clear choice, orange juice for the vitamin c. Caleb put in the requested dollar seventy five and watched as the machine worked to give him his selection. The bottle fell to the bin with a thud and Caleb grabbed it from the machine. "That should be good. Lots of sugar," Caleb whispered to himself. Caleb walked back to the room reading the label as he turned the corner into the room. "The vitamins in this should give you a good kick." Caleb looked up from the bottle he was reading to see Isaiah laying back on the hospital bed, passed out. Caleb sat the food on the desk and rushed over to the bed, he began to shake Isaiah lightly. He realized that he was still breathing but he had passed out most likely from the loss of blood. "Oh, shit! Nurse, Nurse!" Caleb ran to the door way as he called for the nurse overcome with fear. "Nurse, he passed out!" The nurse came rushing along with the doctor. "I just walked in and he was here like this," said Caleb panicked.

"It's okay son," said the doctor, "But just stay out here out of the way okay?" Caleb nodded as the doctor guided him quickly out of the room and went back in. Caleb stood in the doorway and watched as the doctor and the nurses hover over Isaiah's body each doing a separate task with the various equipment scattered about the small room until one of them shut the door. Caleb let out a sigh of frustration wanting to break down the door just so he could at least see what they were doing, to assure himself that Isaiah was in good hands. He stood for a few minutes at the door hoping that someone would come out after a short few minutes and tell him that Isaiah was fine, that he had just fallen asleep. But nothing was happening Caleb could feel tears starting to form in his eyes as the emotion of fear for Isaiah began to take over. The frustration of knowing that he was powerless to do anything to help was getting to him, he wasn't used to being in a situation that he couldn't control.

"Damn it," Caleb let out a sigh of frustration and abruptly went to sit down in the waiting room. Caleb sat forward in the chair he had sat with Isaiah in, with his elbows on his knees and his hands on the back of his head staring down at the ground. He watched as the tears fell from his eyes and landed on the cement tiling in front of him. The longer he sat there the more he thought of how he could have prevented the whole situation. The whole incident would never have happened if he had been there to begin with. Caleb let out a sob but then pulled it back in trying not to call any attention to himself. He felt like he was responsible for this whole mess and began to think that maybe Isaiah would be better off without him. It was his fault that the guys on the team were suspicious of him to begin with. If he had just let him go that night after the party there wouldn't be any issue. Caleb looked up at the clock and realized that almost an hour had passed. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hands stood up and took a deep breath to compose himself then walked over to the receptionist. "Excuse me?" he said quietly. "Has there been any word on Isaiah Argent?" The receptionist stopped what she was doing at her computer then checked a ledger that hung next to her on the wall. Caleb squinted slightly to try and see for himself but he couldn't read the writing on the graph. The receptionist took the ledger down still not saying anything and examined it closer. The whole process seemed to be taking an eternity for Caleb who watched eagerly for some kind of sign.

"I'm sorry, there's nothing yet," said the receptionist in her expect plain expression.

"Could you please tell me when something has changed?" he asked with desperate tone in his voice.

"Yes," the receptionist paused, "Wait I see here that he's still a minor?" Caleb nodded at her not really seeing what relevance that had to the situation at hand. "Are you his legal guardian?" she asked quickly.

"Um no," answered Caleb confused.

"Then I'm sorry young man but I can't release any information to you." The receptionist stuck the ledger back in its position on the wall and sat looking at Caleb seemingly waiting for his reaction.

"What? Why not?" asked Caleb confused, "I'm the one that brought him in." The receptionist sat forward in her chair and looked at Caleb who was ready to start getting angry.

"That's policy I'm sorry but there's nothing I can do, we will have to contact his mother or father before we can even let you see him again." Caleb was angry not understanding why the receptionist hadn't stated any of this to them before. He held back his emotions knowing that if he went off on her it wouldn't help his situation. "Of course now we will have to wait for him to wake up to get his parents on the phone, unless you can help with that." The receptionist looked at him in wait. Caleb dreaded calling Carla and being the one to have to tell her that her son was just assaulted and in, for all he knew, serious condition. But at the same time he didn't want her to get a call from a stranger in the middle of the night telling her that her son was in the hospital. There night on the phone Caleb learned that Isaiah and his mother were extremely close, and also that he was her only living family member.

"I'll call his mother for you." Caleb turned and started to walk away rubbing a nervous hand through his hair. Her heard the nurse say something but couldn't make out what she had said as he walked through the large sliding glass doors leading outside. He needed to get some air and calm himself down before making the call. Caleb took a deep breath of fresh night air. It wasn't a warm night out but it was comfortable. He reached into his pocket mentally preparing himself for the call he was about to make trying to sound strong on the phone. He looked at the face of the phone and manually dialled the number to Isaiah's house phone. He pushed the call button and slowly raised the phone to his ear. The phone rang several times probably due to the fact that it was eleven o clock at night, Caleb expected her to take some time to pick up. There was a click in his ear as she finally picked up the phone.

"Mm hello," said a clearly very tired Carla. Caleb froze at the sound of her voice and took a shaky breath and put his free hand on his forehead. "Hello?" she said again sounding more awake. "Isaiah is that you?" At the very sound of Isaiah's name Caleb almost broke down crying having to fight back more tears. "I can hear you breathing..." Carla let out an irritated sigh. "I'm hanging up now."

"No, wait," said Caleb dragging his hand down over his face.

"Who is this?" Caleb hadn't talked to Carla on the phone enough for her to actually recognize his voice.

"It's me Caleb," Caleb had to tell her fast as he felt that he was about to lose control of his emotions. "You need to come down to the hospital, something happened to Isaiah." There was suddenly a click in his ear and the line went dead. Caleb was certain that he would be seeing her in a few moments at this point and wasn't sure what he was going to say to her. He turned around and went back through the large glass doors and walked up to the reception desk. "I called his mom she is on her way." The receptionist looked up at him and gave him a soft smile seeing the look of strain in his face.

"Thank you. Are you alright?" she asked. Caleb got to the point where he was starting to have a hard time speaking since he was so overcome with emotion and just shook his head no. "It's not your fault you know." Caleb was thankful to the receptionist for trying to offer him some form of comfort but she didn't fully know the situation. Caleb just walked away and sat back down in the waiting room wondering how she knew he was blaming himself to begin with. Caleb sat waiting, knowing that any minute Carla would be there and he would have to explain everything to her. Caleb sat for a few minutes in quiet contemplation when a set of lights through the window caught his eye as a small car turned into the parking lot and parked next to his truck. He forced himself to stand as he saw Carla get out of her car but he couldn't bring himself to move as she ran into the hospital wearing her pyjamas and a blue fall jacket. He watched as she approached the receptionist and when her back was to him he started toward her.

"My name is Carla Argent, I'm Isaiah Argents mother," he heard her talking quickly, "Can you tell me where my son is please?"

"Yes of course Mrs. Argent, Isaiah was admitted at roughly ten o clock after an assault had taken place."

"Oh my god," said Carla covering her mouth.

"He's currently being worked on by the doctor after passing out from what we believe to be blood loss. We think he'll be okay but I haven't had an update from the doctor for almost an hour." Caleb could hear the conversation between the two of them more clearly as he got closer.

"Who brought him in?" asked Carla. The receptionist pointed to Caleb who had walked up behind her.

"I did," he said just as she turned around to look at him.

"What happened Caleb, he was supposed to be with you after practise?" asked Carla sounding almost suspicious. Caleb froze up as he looked into Carla's eyes. "Well were you two attacked or something you don't look hurt." Caleb suddenly couldn't hold back anymore.

"I'm sorry," he cried as tears began to flow, "I fell asleep and didn't set my alarm right, I, I didn't get to practise tonight and someone attacked him in the locker room." Caleb explained himself embarrassed that he had broken down and wasn't able to control himself. He wiped away tears as Carla stared at him with a plain but disappointed look. Caleb had hoped that she would take pity on him and understand what he was going through as well but didn't expect.

"Do you realize what he risked for you?" she asked. Caleb started to cry uncontrollably as she repeated everything that he had gone over earlier in the evening. "You were supposed to keep him safe, he relied on you," Carla paused, "I hope you had a good nap because it was certainly a costly one."

"I know, I'm sorry," he cried speaking slowly in between short gasps.

"Stay away from my son!" Carla snapped angrily as tears streamed her face.

"Please . . . don't say that." Suddenly Carla's hand came out of seemingly nowhere as she slapped Caleb across his face cocking his head to the side. Shocked Caleb stood there with tears streaming his face looking toward the room where Isaiah was being worked on when the doctor exited the room and shut the door behind him. He quickly walked toward the two of them and looked at him.

"He's been stabilized and he's going to be fine. We're going to move him to one of the private rooms in a few minutes," explained the doctor. Caleb and Carla both looked at each other. At the sound of the good news Caleb was starting to get himself under control as he regulated his breathing. The door to the room opened and the nurses started to reel Isaiah out on a stretcher. Caleb and Carla both ran to his side Carla on one side Caleb on the other. Caleb took Isaiah's hand and held it as he walked. Isaiah was still unconscious but Caleb could feel his hand squeeze back when he squeezed. The nurses took Isaiah only a few rooms down to a private room the doctor followed them in. "Mrs Argent?" Carla turned her attention to him as he approached her. "I'm Dr. Bashir, if you don't mind I'd like you to come with me just to go over what we had to do and what we found." Carla shook her head no.

"I'm not leaving my son here, can we go over it here?" Caleb turned his attention to Isaiah and hoped that this would not be his last night to be in his presence. He held onto his hand tightly and grabbed an nearby chair and sat it down facing toward the bed. Caleb sat down still holding Isaiah hand tightly in both of his hands intently staring at him, hoping for any sign that he was about to wake up so that he could see his smile again. He figured it was only a matter of time before Carla asked him to leave or had the hospital staff remove him. Caleb pressed the back of Isaiah's hand against his forehead.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. Caleb closed his eyes to block out the rest of the room not listening to the conversation between Carla and the doctor. Right now he only wanted to be with Isaiah, he didn't care about anything else.

The doctor finished explaining the situation to Carla and left the room. Carla stood at the foot of the bed staring at Isaiah in the bed and Caleb who was right beside him with his hand pressed against his forehead sitting with his eyes closed. She was so upset with herself for slapping the one person who made her son happy right now and blaming him for what happened after he had already blamed himself for everything. She walked over to Caleb who was still oblivious to what was happening in the rest of the room and put her hand gently on his shoulder. He opened his eyes then slowly looked up at her with a sorrowful expression on his face. "Do I have to leave now?" he asked the sadness shining clearly through in his voice.

"No Caleb, you don't have to leave," she said quietly. "I'm so sorry for blaming you for this." Carla put her arms around Caleb and pulled him into her and looked down at him. "This isn't your fault Caleb I know that. And what's more important is that you're the one thing right now that makes him happy," explained Carla in a soothing voice. "And when he's happy that's all that matters and I'm happy." Carla ran her hands through Caleb's hair. "I don't want you to be out of his life Caleb. He needs you, now more than ever."

"I'm never gonna leave him," Caleb cried into Carla's jacket. Carla took her hand and placed it on Caleb's and Isaiah's. "The doctor said he'll be fine and should wake up in an little while. If you wanna leave until then I'll call you when he wakes up..."

"No," Caleb objected to the very thought of leaving, "I'm not leaving I don't care."

"Okay. We can stay here with him together then." Carla patted Caleb's hand and walked to the edge of the bed, she sat down in a nearby chair.

Some time had passed since they had gotten to the room and Carla had watched as Caleb slowly drifted off to sleep still holding her sons hand. Carla couldn't believe how lucky her son was to have found someone like Caleb, he was truly devoted to him. He hadn't moved a muscle since he sat down until he fell asleep laying his head on the side of the bed. Carla still couldn't believe something so brutal had happened to her son but she knew he would be okay.


	8. Chapter 8: Hospitalized

A couple of hours had passed since Isaiah had lost consciousness and he lay still asleep in the private emergency room. Caleb had fallen asleep in the chair next to him and Carla still paced the floor at the foot of his bed. Isaiah opened his eyes and he looked around when the feeling of the pain came back to him. Isaiah squinted at the brightness of the florescent lights that lit the hospital room brightly. He glance around the room still staying quietly, he could see his mother who had not yet noticed him standing at the foot of his bed with her back to him. He realised that they must have called her after he passed out, Isaiah couldn't help but think of how mad she might be now that she knew he had lied about where he was. The room he was in was very plain and smelled very disinfected. There were one or two cabinets where they must have kept emergency equipment and then there was nothing, no windows, no other beds and there was no I.V. Isaiah looked over at Caleb who laid there in the same clothing he had saw him in earlier in the night, telling him that he had not left him, and smiled then took his hand loosely. The touch of his warm skin brought him comfort beyond what he ever imagined anyone's touch could. He was so thankful to have Caleb there earlier in the evening. If Caleb hadn't have found him he might have been in there all night. Isaiah recalled sitting in the shower as the water ran over him turned from warm to cold. He felt so powerless to do anything that he couldn't even gather the strength to get up. A few seconds passed and Isaiah inhaled a deep breath feeling a sudden tightness in the skin on his chest meaning that they must have given him stitches to the wound his attackers had inflicted on him. The thought of living with the word on his chest for the rest of his life was disturbing, he still couldn't wrap his mind around what he had done to deserve such a thrashing. He thought back about it wishing that he had of at least tried to defend himself thinking that if he had of gotten a good hit off on at least one of them he might feel better about himself right now. The only sounds in the room Isaiah could hear was Caleb's breathing and the buzzing of the fluorescent lights. He knew that the second he made any type of sound his mother was going to hear him. He knew that after this it was going to change everything, even if his mother still trusted him she would never let him go anywhere alone again. Isaiah started to become used to the light and opened his eyes fully after a few minutes when his mother noticed that he was awake. She approached him with tears in her eyes and slowly and carefully put her arms around him from the opposite side of the bed Caleb was on.

"Oh, thank god you're awake," she cried quietly, "I was starting to think you wouldn't wake up." Carla pulled back for a second and put her hand on his face. "Oh, my god, my baby. Why didn't you tell me what happened? Caleb told me everything. Isaiah flinched as she hugged him a second time brushing up against the wound lightly. "I'm sorry did I hurt you?" she asked pulling back quickly.

"Still hurts." Carla sat down carefully on the edge of the bed and took Isaiah's free hand. She looked at him with bloodshot eyes. "I'm sorry mom," Isaiah whispered, "But I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry about me." Isaiah looked up at his mother who just rubbed her free hand through his hair gently.

"How were you going to keep this from me?"

"I don't know." Truthfully Isaiah hadn't thought the whole situation through the pain was too much for him to just put aside for the time being.

"Do you know who did this to you? We have to call the police."

"Mom, please don't," pleaded Isaiah. Isaiah knew that if there was any retaliation on his part that the people who did this would just strike back and hit harder. "If you do, things will just get worse." Carla looked at him with a look of angry desperation in her eyes that Isaiah had never seen before.

"And just let these monsters who did this go free?" asked Carla her voice growing louder, "Isaiah I just can't." Isaiah didn't want his mother to wake Caleb who was undoubtedly exhausted from the part he played in saving him from this whole ordeal.

"Keep your voice down," he said looking over at Caleb who was still asleep. "I know you want them to be in trouble, but Mom, they never said anything and they had masks on, "he explained, "I never saw a face or anything that we might be able to use to catch them." Isaiah knew that his mother hated feeling helpless especially when it came down to protecting him.

"I'm sorry Isaiah," she said quieting down, "I'm just so mad. You're the only family I have left and if something should ever happen to you, I don't know what I would do." Tears formed in Carla's eyes again as she knelt and hugged Isaiah. He sat forward and wrapped his arms around her and flinched at the pain of the stitches moving about in his body.

"I know." Isaiah relaxed in his mother's arms for just a moment he couldn't really fathom what she must have gone through getting a call late at night to tell her to come to the emergency room. As they sat quietly he suddenly realized that no one had probably told Casey what happened to him yet. "Did you call Casey, yet?" he asked sitting back in the bed again. "She's going to wonder why I never called her and I lost my cell phone."

"I'll call her and don't worry about the phone. I'm sure they'll find it there," said Carla smiling at Isaiah reassuringly. "I'll be right back." Carla stood up and walked out through the door and shut it behind her. Isaiah looked over at Caleb again and smiled as he lovingly touched his hand. Isaiah looked over at him wanting just to be able to reach out and touch his face. Isaiah tugged lightly on Caleb's hand and he opened his eyes. Almost instantaneously tears came to both of their eyes as Caleb sat forward and they embraced. The rush of emotion seemed to come from nowhere when Isaiah looked into Caleb's eyes. They held each other tightly as they sat there in almost silence, the only sound was their breathing over the hum of the fluorescent lights. Isaiah ignored the pain he felt in his chest as Caleb held him tightly. He knew Caleb had to have been overcome with joy at seeing him awake. The last thing Isaiah remembered before passing out was sitting cuddle up to Caleb in the waiting area of the hospital and feeling the warmth and comfort of his being. He had to of been there when he passed out.

"I'm sorry," Caleb whined quietly. All Isaiah could do was to hug him tighter he never for a minute thought that this was Caleb's fault.

Casey had been laying in bed for about three hours now tossing and turning, she was restless. She looked over at her alarm clock it was telling her that it was only one thirty. She couldn't help but think about Isaiah and why he hadn't called her tonight. She had tried everything to get in touch with him from calling his cell phone to email but nothing. She found it unusual, she wasn't used to having a hard time getting a hold of him. Of course she wasn't used to trying to get a hold of him when he had the option of hanging out with his boy friend before either. Casey laid on her back looking up at the plastic glow in the dark stars that were stuck to her ceiling when she was five, something her mother thought was cute, and she had just kind of left there when she got older. At this point Casey had tried everything to fall asleep, listening to her favourite relaxing music, reading a book and even had counted sheep for awhile. But nothing was working. Suddenly Casey could hear her phone vibrating caught off guard at the sound at first she didn't move. When the phone didn't stop vibrating she jumped up out of her bed and ran to her back pack that sat at the foot of her desk. She dug through it looking for the phone in the dark able to see the light from the face of the phone. She was sure she was about to miss the call. It couldn't be Jonathan he would have texted her like he always did so it must've been something important. She finally grabbed her phone from the bottom of the bag and hit the answer button quickly putting it to her ear.

"Hello," she said quickly hoping the person hadn't hung up yet.

"Casey?" It was Carla's voice from the other end the last person Casey had been expecting to hear from the other end of the phone. She suddenly felt a sinking feeling in her chest as she started to think of what might be the reason she hadn't heard from Isaiah. She knew the only reason Carla would call her this late would have to be an emergency. Casey let out a deep breath bracing for what she was about to hear.

"Carla? What's wrong?" she asked.

"Well I'm down here with Isaiah and Caleb at the hospital," Carla started. As Carla spoke Casey started having horrible images flashing through her mind. Whatever had happened was worse then what she had braced herself for. "Isaiah got attacked in the locker room tonight after practice..." Carla explained.

"Oh my god," Casey interrupted, "Is he okay?"

"Yes he's alright. He had to have some stitches and the doctors are keeping him here overnight just to keep an eye on him. He should be back on his feet in a day or two," Carla went on. Casey forced herself to hold her tongue so she could get the full story. "We just wanted to let you know so you weren't worrying about him."

"Is he awake?" asked Casey with a shaky voice.

"Yes he's awake and talking. But this whole thing has taken quite the toll on his self confidence they carved the word "fag" into his chest with a knife. So as you can imagine he's quite hurt."

"I'm coming down I'll see you soon." Casey stood up and flicked the switch to her lamp turning it on so she could start looking for her clothes to wear as Carla hung up the phone. At this point Casey wasn't about to be picky with what she wore so grabbed the first thing she saw, which happened to be her comfy clothing. Her favourite pair of jogging pants and a hooded sweater, quickly she slid on the clothing and grabs her phone off the desk. She walked out of her bedroom and headed to the kitchen. The house was dark and quiet her mother was long asleep by now as she often would go to bed early throughout the week and her father was working backshift. Casey slowly walked through the kitchen and grabbed the keys to her mother's car off the key rack and started to open the door when the light came on. Casey turned around to see her mother standing in the entryway to the kitchen with her arms folded and her housecoat on. "I'm sorry, I didn't wake you up did I?" she asked casually.

"No but I do want to know where you're going," asked Fiona.

"Isaiah is in the hospital Carla just called me," explained Casey keeping it brief. Fiona's eyes widened most likely just as surprised as Casey was when she heard about it.

"Oh my, is he okay?" she asked, "What happened to him?"

"Someone attacked him after practise tonight, they even took a knife to him. It's so horrible." Casey's eyes started to fill with tears as she thought about what Isaiah must have gone through. "It just makes me so mad."

"I can't imagine how Carla must feel, poor thing I'll have to give her a call tomorrow and check in on her. Tell Isaiah I hope he's feeling better." Casey nodded and walked through the door to the outside quickly and got in the car. The night air was cool and damp there was most likely going to be a rain in the next day or so. Casey started the car and sat staring at her hands on the wheel briefly. She was starting to shake at the thought of Isaiah being brutally attacked like Carla had described. She cried to herself briefly as she realized that she was far too worked up to be able to make the drive but there was no way she wasn't going to get there. She'd have to call Jonathan.

It was only a few minutes to two according to Jonathan's bedside clock that flashed the time in big blue letters on a black background. He sat on his bed and puffed away at the last of a joint he had rolled out of the last of his weed. He had been thinking to himself all night about Isaiah and Caleb and was hoping that after tonight it would put an end to whatever it was that they had going on. Jonathan was almost getting sick to his stomach just thinking about it when he started to talk to himself.

"I wonder where Caleb was tonight. I wonder if he's still up," said Jonathan as he reached for his cell phone, "May as well find out." Jonathan exhaled a puff of smoke from the joint just as he picked up his cell phone. He manually entered Caleb's cell phone number and put the phone to his ear. Not to his surprise Caleb's answering machine began to play his greeting message telling him that he was not available. "Hey, "Big C", it's Johnny-Boy," said Jonathan half baked, "Call me when you get this. Just wondering where you were tonight." Jonathan hung up his cell phone and sat it down on the bed next to him when it started to vibrate. Slightly started he looked over at it before picking it up. It was Casey calling him, he had already gotten off for the night and wasn't really interested in going out for a quickie at two am. He sat the phone back on the bed letting it continue to vibrate until it finally stopped. He looked down at the now still phone, he was starting to feel like he and Casey weren't really a great match after all. Sheena's cousin was almost as hot as she was and nowhere near as much of a bitch as Sheena was. Maybe, he thought, there was something worth looking into there. The phone started to vibrate as Casey tried to reach him again. Not wanting to hear about it in the morning he decided he would pick up, she knew that he always stayed up late so there was no point in lying and saying he was asleep. He picked up the phone and put it to his ear. "Casey? What's up?"

"Jonathan, you have to come get me!" she said sounding almost frantic. The tone in her voice was enough to let Jonathan know that she wasn't calling for sex and that she had to have found out about Isaiah by now. "Isaiah's in the hospital! He got attacked after practise in the locker room!" Jonathan felt a look of worry come over his face. Worry that he might be caught for what he did but for now it sounded like his cover was intact.

"Really?" Jonathan feigned worry he didn't really care but he knew he had to play along for fear that she may think something was up. "Why are you calling me? Shouldn't you be down there?" Jonathan thought rushing her might get her off the phone with him.

"I need you to drive me. I'm too freaked out; I can't drive. Please Jonathan just come with me?" she pleaded.

"I don't know, Casey. Him and I don't really get along," said Jonathan clearly understating his and Isaiah's relationship of sorts.

"Oh my god just fucking come!" she cried frustrated, "Do it, please!" Jonathan started to think about what might happen if Isaiah saw him so soon after the attack. He began to think what if he recognized him after the attack. What if he had already talked to the police and this was just some clever ploy to get him down there. He knew Casey would go along with it if that was the case, so there was no way for him to be sure. But if he didn't go and he decided that he wanted to continue on with Casey and that this wasn't some ploy then he would come off as completely insensitive.

"Alright, I will. I fucking will," said Jonathan almost angry, "Get ready. I'm leaving now." Jonathan hung up the phone and jumped off his bed. He ran upstairs and quickly out to his car. Luckily he had come home tonight to find that his parents had been drinking and were passed out on the couch allowing him to leave without conflict. Jonathan backed out of the yard and started the short drive to Casey's house. He found himself speeding just so he could get it over and done with. Jonathan did not want to go to the hospital room to see Isaiah, mostly because he didn't want Isaiah to point him out as the attacker. Also he didn't think that Isaiah or his mother who would obviously be there would want him there. Jonathan was tired, he just wanted to go to bed now that he was relaxed after his joint like he usually did. The last thing he needed was a scene at the hospital to unfold. It wasn't long before Jonathan pulled into Casey's yard, all the lights in the house were on telling him that she had awaken her mother. He started to wonder why her mother couldn't drive her to the hospital instead. He watched as Casey ran down the stairs and her mother waved her off through the front door. He had never seen Casey dressed so casually before.

"Tell him I hope they find who did this to him," called Fiona as Casey walked toward the car.

"I will, mom!" Casey called back before opening the passenger side door and getting in the car. Jonathan could tell by looking at Casey that she had been crying, her eyes were slightly reddened and her facial expression said she was distraught. "Someone attacked him and carved "FAG" into his chest. Can you believe that?"

"Wow." Jonathan looked away from her as he started to pull out of the yard. He almost wanted to laugh at the fact that Casey had no idea she was falling in love with the very person who did this. Jonathan began to head in the general direction of the hospital, that was across town but not a far drive.

"It makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about it. I hope they catch the bastard who did it." Casey seemed to be rambling Jonathan wasn't sure if he was actually supposed to respond to her or just sit and listen. "How could something like this happen?" Casey sat back in her seat staring forward as they drove and put her seatbelt on then looked over at Jonathan as she continued. "Did you see anything after practice?" she asked. Jonathan looked at her before answering analyzing her facial expression for any sign of accusation or implication.

"Nope, I showered before him. He was standing around talking to Stephanie for awhile," said Jonathan pretending to have no clue when in fact Stephanie was there to give them time to get ready, "I think." Jonathan went back to the road and took a turn onto Main Street. The town was completely dead, virtually devoid of any sign of life at this hour.

"So help me, if I find out that that bitch had something to do with it, I'll wring her scrawny little neck myself," said Casey. Jonathan had never seen Casey angry like this before, he was scared that she might hurt Stephanie.

"I wouldn't think so," he started then realized he would need to play on Casey's hatred of Stephanie to sound more believable, "The stupid bitch actually has a crush on him."

"Oh he's totally got better. He would never be with someone like her; soulless whore."

"Casey what the hell! I don't know why you're worrying about shit like that." Despite the fact that Stephanie was an idiot Jonathan didn't hate her and he certainly didn't want to see her get beat up. But even though he and Sheena were partners in this whole ordeal he certainly wouldn't mind watching Casey slap her around a bit. "And if you wanna talk about bitches, Sheena's definitely the head of that operation."

"If you're a girl and slightly bigger than them, then they're all bitches," said Casey as she sat low in her seat and put her hood up. Jonathan just shook his head and continued to drive he took another turn and they were onto the street that the hospital parking lot connected to. It was only a brief minute before he pulled into the parking lot and got the car parked.

"Here we are," he said unenthusiastically.

"Come on." Casey quickly got out of the car and started walking toward the entrance of the reception area. Jonathan sighed and reluctantly got out of the car, slowly following her as she walked into the building and up to the reception desk. "I'm looking for a friend of mine." The receptionist looked up from her computer and gave a friendly smile.

"Name please?"

"Argent. Isaiah Argent." Casey leaned over the desk slightly and tried to get a glimpse of the receptionist's computer.

"Oh. Poor kid. He's in the emergency ward. Room A."

"Thank you," Casey looked back at Jonathan who was standing not far from her, "Let's go." Casey walked toward the Emergency but Jonathan just stood by the desk. The receptionist looked at him awkwardly not sure if she should ask to help him or not since they had come in together. Casey stopped walking and looked back at him. "What are you waiting for? Come on?" Again Casey started quickly down the hallway.

"Okay, okay, but remember, I don't want to be here." Jonathan jogged slowly to catch up to her and walked slightly behind her.

"I've noticed. What's wrong with you, anyway?"

"Nothing," said Jonathan his nerves just starting to get the best of him, "It's like two in the morning. How do you expect me to be acting?"

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm just really stressed. I don't know what we're walking into here." Jonathan and Casey continued down the long hallway to the emergency ward.

Caleb had gotten a bottle of water from the vending machine in the hallway and had poured some out for Isaiah into a small paper cup that he had found in one of the cabinets. Caleb passed him the water and watched as he took a small sip.

"How're you feeling?" he asked.

"I don't feel light-headed anymore," said Isaiah as he passed the small cup back to Caleb.

"Anything hurting?" Caleb sat the small cub on the counter and sat back in his chair next to Isaiah.

"Not really. When I'm laying here, just the cuts," Isaiah shifted slightly, clearly feeling some discomfort. "Did they say when the tests would be done?" Isaiah looked from Caleb to his mother not sure who to really look to for an answer. Carla stood up and walked over to him, she sat next to him on the bed and rested her hand on his.

"I think they had to wait to do them," she explained, "We will know sometime tomorrow though for sure."

"So, no school then?" asked Isaiah somewhat sarcastically. Just then Casey appeared in the doorway.

"Isaiah!" Casey quickly walked in and put her arms around him he flinched slightly but hugged her back. "Are you alright?"

"Ah, careful," Casey pulled back and sat on the bed in front of Caleb. "I'm okay for the most part; just sore and waiting on some tests, won't get those until tomorrow sometime." Casey sat back on the bed and looked toward the door, Jonathan lingered in the doorway watching the two of them before taking a step inside. He looked at the people in the room, he was clearly surprised to see Caleb there.

"What are you doing here?" he asked almost sounding uncomfortable.

"I found him, man. I went for a nap and set my alarm for six A.M.," Caleb explained sounding as though he was having trouble keeping his emotions in check, "so when I woke up at like nine something, I hurried in and found him sitting in the shower." Caleb rubbed his face and looked down at the ground.

"Oh," said Jonathan almost in disbelief.

"Caleb brought him here," said Carla looking up from Isaiah.

"Yeah I was a mess, to say the least." Isaiah looked at Jonathan suddenly feeling confused as to why he was there. Jonathan was the last person he expected to see that night. Jonathan avoided making eye contact with Isaiah as he looked at him clearly uncomfortable.

"Caleb, wanna go grab something from the lobby?" Jonathan was still high and now feeling hungry from the weed he had smoked a side effect he would often dispel with pizza or something from one of the local restaurants. "I'm hungry."

Casey let out a clearly frustrated sigh and made eye contact with Isaiah before looking over at Jonathan. She could believe how insensitive he was being having not even offered any condolences for what had happened. She didn't think that his hatred was so deeply rooted as she was starting to now see.

"Jonathan you brought me here. But you obviously don't want to be here and I'm staying. Why don't you just leave?" said Casey keeping relatively calm considering how angry she was with him.

"Um, how are you going to get home?" asked Jonathan confused not sure where the sudden anger was coming from.

"That's not something you need to worry about," Casey snapped, "just piss off and leave me alone, will ya?" Caleb didn't want the situation to get any more heated than it already had gotten to and decided he would get Jonathan out of there before it got any worse. He could see why Casey was so upset, sure Jonathan hated Isaiah but it didn't justify his casual behaviour.

"I'll walk you out," said Caleb. Caleb stood up and the two of them walked out into the hallway. Jonathan seemed to be in a slight state of shock at Casey's attitude toward him. Caleb's own frustration with him had reached a boiling point. "Man, what is your fucking problem?"

"What are you talking about?" Dumbfounded Jonathan stopped and looked at him, he was far too high to be dealing with this right now.

"A member of our team—a human being—just got brutally attacked in the same locker room we shower in, after one of our practises, all you can think of is getting something to eat?"

"Maybe if he didn't prance around like a little faggot all the time, this might not have happened to him," said Jonathan as he continued to walk again.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Caleb, man, it was only a matter of time," Jonathan was trying to get Caleb to see the situation from his point of view, "Didn't you hear what he did at the party . . . maybe he had it coming." Jonathan had hoped that implying that Isaiah did something that he might consider disrespectful in his house that he might come around. Jonathan watched Caleb's face go from half angry to astonishment his plan clearly blowing up in his face.

"I can't believe you'd even say something like that," Caleb stopped and dropped his arms to his sides Jonathan stopped and turned to face him, "How would anyone deserve this? If that was you laying in there, he'd be there if you wanted him to be. All the time you've spent with him in the fields, and at practises with him and you don't even know him."

"Yeah," said Jonathan as he turned and started walking again, "my loss I guess." They had arrived at the main entrance and Jonathan turned again to look at Caleb who was right behind him. Jonathan watched Caleb's movements and his face had a red hue to it, he stood straight with his fist by his side. Jonathan hadn't seen Caleb this angry in a long time, once before a long time ago when they had lost a game to someone that had teased him a lot when they were younger. Jonathan could tell by looking that Caleb had his fist clenched as tight as he could and was almost waiting for him to hit him. The two of them had never been in a fight before but Caleb wasn't a whole lot bigger then Jonathan, at the very least it would be a fair fight.

"How about you just get the fuck out of here before I put you in the room next to him?" Caleb threatened. Caleb actually felt like he was going to hit Jonathan and really wanted him to leave before he lost control. Caleb wasn't known for it but he had a bad temper that once he went off he had a hard time controlling and it took a lot for him to get to that point. Caleb felt the urge to hit him getting stronger so he turned and started to walk away down the hall rubbing the back of his head. He heard Jonathan snicker at him and could feel him staring at him from behind him as he walked away before leaving.

"Yeah alright dude." Jonathan turned and kicked the large door open and walked out into the parking lot and quickly over to his car. The way Caleb was acting was really worrying him and he was starting to think that Isaiah had gotten to him. Jonathan got into his car and started the drive home.

Caleb stood outside of the Isaiah's room for a few minutes trying to calm himself down. He didn't want Isaiah or anyone else in the room to be worried about anything else right now, after what Isaiah had gone through he didn't need any more stress. Caleb started to think about what people were going to be saying the next day, he noticed the way Jonathan had looked at him. Now that he was pretty sure they officially weren't on good terms he was sure there would be lots of rumours floating around tomorrow. Jonathan had also let Caleb know that Sheena was spreading rumours about Isaiah with what he had said about the party. He began to wonder if she might have had something to do with this, it was certainly high on the list of possibilities. Caleb stood pondering the thought for a few moments when Casey walked out of the room almost bumping into him.

"Oh, there you are," she said taking a step back from him, "Your phone rang like four times. I didn't want you to miss the call it sounds important." Casey gestured for Caleb to come back in the room as she walked back in and pointed to his phone on the counter where he had left it. "It's right there."

"Thanks Casey." Caleb smiled at Isaiah who looked at him from the bed with a questioning look on his face. He was clearly able to see that Caleb was upset. "I'm okay, he just ticks me off," said Caleb answering the question that Isaiah had asked with his eyes. Caleb picked up his phone and looked at the missed calls, there was 4 calls from home and one call from Jonathan that was placed just about a half hour ago. Caleb couldn't imagine that Caesar would be up this late so it would have had to have been his parents calling wondering where he was. "I think it was my father." The phone started to ring again in his hand as he looked at it, again it was his home phone number showing on the display. Caleb hit the talk button and put the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Do you know what time it is young man?" The voice on the other end was his father and he was clearly irritated. They had most likely had a late night at the office and came home to find out that he wasn't home. "Where the hell are you?"

"I'm at the hospital dad," said Caleb sounding intimidated.

"Well are you okay?" he asked. The question caught Caleb off guard, he didn't expect him to be worried.

"Yeah I'm fine my friend Isaiah is here though," said Caleb, "Do you mind if I stay with him tonight?"

"You need to come home, now," said Gordon sternly. Caleb new by the tone of his father's voice that asking again would do him no good, so he didn't bother.

"Alright, I'll leave now." Gordon hung up the phone in Caleb's ear without saying anything. Isaiah and the others had sat and listened to the entire conversation and were looking at him. "I'm sorry, they want me to come home, he sounded pissed." Caleb put his cell phone in his pocket and walked over to the bed. "Are you okay here, I'll stay if you ask me to."

"Thanks to you," Isaiah whispered and smiled at Caleb then reached out for his hand. "Will you come back tomorrow?" Caleb smiled back at him and touched his hand, Isaiah already knew the answer.

"You know I will."

"Okay." Caleb bent over and kissed Isaiah's hand not wanting to really kiss him in front of his mother when she was only a few feet from them. Caleb let go of Isaiah's hand and started for the door.

"God, look at all that sap," said Casey, "you two could open up a maple syrup factory, you're so sweet." Casey and Carla laughed Caleb looked back at them smiling and could see that Isaiah had blushed. He continued on his way out of the hospital feeling good about himself.

"Casey did you really have to do that?" asked Isaiah with an embarrassed smile on his face.

"You know it," answered Casey, "Hey he's gotta get used to me sooner or later if he's gonna be with you, no time like the present." Isaiah shrugged his shoulders, he couldn't really argue with her logic. Isaiah laid there briefly before letting out a yawn and realized just how tired he was.

"I think you need to get some sleep," said Carla standing up off the bed.

"I should probably do the same," Casey let out a yawn and stood up to stretch, "Now that I know you're going to be okay then I can at least get some sleep."

"Did you want a drive home or do you want to stay the night?" asked Carla looking intently at Casey with question. Isaiah had already started to doze off the tired feeling suddenly taking him over very quickly. He was never up this late other then the odd weekend and he hadn't had a decent nights sleep because of being on the phone with Caleb.

"I'll get you to take me home if it's no trouble?" Carla looked at Casey as she put on her jacket and dug out her car keys.

"You know better." Carla walked over to the doorway and looked back at Isaiah. "I'll be back soon hon." Isaiah didn't make any sign of movement or acknowledgement. "Poor thing's exhausted." Carla and Casey both quietly leave the room shutting off the light before they leave.

As the lights went out Isaiah opened his eyes suddenly feeling a little more awake. As he laid there Isaiah ran his hand across his chest under the blanket. It had a dressing on it to absorb anything that came out after the stitching but he could still feel the bumps under it from the stitches. As he ran his hand across it he was clearly able to read the word that was now imprinted on him for the rest of his life. Isaiah felt tears welling up in his eyes but blinked them away not wanting to spend anymore tears on it then he already had. Isaiah closed his eyes again to fall asleep easily for the night.

Caleb had just pulled into his yard and drove the truck up the driveway at a crawling speed. He could see the living room light on from the end of the driveway meaning they were up and waiting for him. Caleb dreaded going inside, he knew that they were going to attack him with questions he didn't care for them to know the answers to. He knew he would be in for a lecture when he walked in. Caleb pulled up to the garage and the door opened automatically, telling him that his father had been watching him pull in the yard. Caleb drove the truck into the garage and the door closed behind him. He sat for a few minutes just thinking of the nights events and what was still to happen, he decided that he would try to simply go up stairs and go to bed and hopefully it would work, they would leave him alone. Caleb slowly drug himself out of the truck and shut the door. He walked over to the small door that connected their garage to the small hallway where the study was. There were only two doors between him and his parents. Caleb took a deep breath and walked out into the hallway, it was dark but he could see the light under the door that led him to the living room. Caleb walked up to the door and went to put his hand on the doorknob when it opened. He looked up to see his father staring at him with a somewhat disgruntled look on his face.

"Quit wasting time and get the hell in here," he said sternly, "I saw you crawl up the driveway young man." Caleb put his head down thinking that he had already lost his chance at going upstairs right away. He had regretted taking his time getting home he might not have had to deal with this right now.

"Yes sir," Caleb sighed and walked into the living room. His mother was sitting on the couch and all the lights were on. He was right about them just coming home he had noticed that they were both in their full business attire. Caleb walked over and started for the stairs.

"Caleb we need to talk, sit down," said Gordon as he followed Caleb into the room. Gordon watched Caleb walk slowly over to the love seat and sit down.

"Can't we just go to bed I have to get up for school in the morning?" Caleb pleaded.

"Why didn't you come home earlier then this?" asked Gordon taking a seat next to Barbara. Gordon seemed to ignore Caleb's statement altogether and continued on. "We don't give you a curfew because we trust you Caleb, but we also trust that you'll be home at a decent hour on school nights." Gordon and Barbara both sat looking at Caleb waiting for him to explain himself.

"I'm sorry but tonight wasn't normal, I had to take Isaiah to the hospital."

"Who's this Isaiah person, we've never heard you mention him before?" Gordon's voice had a tone of suspicion in it, Caleb didn't understand why it was such a big deal.

"Isaiah Argent, he's on the team." Gordon looked to Barbara as if expecting her to know who he was talking about.

"That's Carla's boy," said Barbara, "Is he okay?"

"What time was that at?"

"Yes," Caleb nodded to his mother, "and I don't really know what time it was, the time was the last thing on my mind." Caleb was frustrated with his father he didn't even seem to care about why Isaiah was in the hospital. Caleb decided he was going to tell them what happened. "Mom, Dad I went in late tonight for practise. I didn't get there until after everyone left. I got a strange message from Isaiah on my phone and when I got there I found him huddled up in the shower beaten and bloody. Four guys attacked him." Caleb blurted out the whole thing rather quickly and looked down at his feet waiting for some kind of reply from his parents. Gordon and Barbara both glanced at each other then looked back at Caleb, both with a disappointed look in their eyes.

"You missed practise tonight?" asked Gordon.

"Well yeah, but..." Caleb started but didn't get a chance to finish.

"Caleb we've been through this," interrupted Barbara, "At your age we shouldn't have to be going over this again." Barbara looked to Gordon as if expecting him to finish the thought.

"Your last game in high school is this coming weekend. I can assure you there is going to be scouts there," explained Gordon, "How do you expect to get into a good university if you can't even be punctual with your high school practises?" Almost stunned at their blatant ignorance at Isaiah's situation Caleb sat staring at his parents. "You need to be more responsible with your time if you ever want to get into the professional leagues. You can't be missing practise. I just hope that Coach Adams will still be willing to give you a good recommendation." Gordon sat back in the couch and relaxed his posture a bit. "Well speak up, what do you have to say for yourself, young man?"

"Did you even hear me?" Caleb could feel his temper starting to rear its ugly head as he shook his head at his father. At this point Caleb didn't care about college or football, he was just glad that Isaiah was alright.

"Alright, it's late," said Barbara, "Let's get some sleep and talk about this tomorrow." Barbara stood up and looked back and forth at both of them. Caleb knew that "talk about this tomorrow" with his parents often meant forget the conversation even happened in the first place because they weren't about to take time out of their schedule to deal with it.

"Good night." Caleb got up and without saying anything else to either of his parents went upstairs to his bedroom. Caleb took his sneakers off as he walked through his bedroom door then sat on the bed. He looked around his room for a moment thinking of how much he just wished that the night could have been normal. He and Isaiah would have come back to the house and probably watched a movie, cuddled for a bit and then gone to bed. But that wasn't the way it had played out. Caleb stood up and took off his shirt and jeans just throwing them to the floor really too tired to care about putting them in the dirty clothes hamper. He pulled the blankets back on his bed and got in, still thinking about Isaiah, he was still unable to shake the feeling that he could have prevented all of this from happening. Caleb covered himself back up with the sheets and turned on his side closing his eyes shortly before falling asleep.

Caleb watched as Isaiah walked into the locker room and started to undress, he stood only about ten feet from him and for some reason couldn't bring himself to get any closer. Isaiah looked in his direction but seemed to look right through him. Caleb smiled at him but Isaiah didn't acknowledge him, instead going about putting his shirt in his locker. Caleb could all of a sudden hear several foot steps behind him he turned just in time to see four blurred figures walk by him. Caleb blinked his eyes then squinted but the images of the figures didn't get any better he rubbed his eyes as they appeared to walk right through him and toward Isaiah. Caleb followed them with his gaze, he was starting to feel uneasy when Isaiah turned to face the four of them. He could see their lips moving but he couldn't make out anything they were saying, it almost seemed as though they were a few miles from him instead of just a few metres. Caleb could suddenly feel wet falling on him, he looked up expecting to see that the fire extinguishers had been triggered but this was not the case. The water seemed to be falling right from the ceiling, Caleb wiped his eyes looking again but nothing changed. Out of the corner of his eye Caleb saw one of the figures punch Isaiah in the stomach and there was a crack of thunder as Isaiah hit the floor. Caleb tried again to move but couldn't, he watched as the four figures punched and kicked at Isaiah. With each hit the rain became more and more relentless as did the thunder which crashed louder with each blow. Caleb yelled at the top of his lungs for them to stop over and over again, but they didn't seem to see or hear a single thing he said or did. Caleb looked on in horror as they beat Isaiah who lay on the floor helplessly, even though everything was well soaked from the rain Caleb could still see the tears falling from Isaiah's eyes unusually clearly. Isaiah looked up at him for the first time since the whole thing began and started to speak.

"Why won't you help me," he said plainly.

"I'm trying, I can't move!" cried Caleb still unable to figure out why he couldn't do anything. The four figures stopped what they were doing and walked toward Caleb. Caleb and Isaiah's eyes were still focused on one another as the four of them reached him. Caleb looked at the blurry figures as one of them pulled a knife from their person. The knife on him was the only thing Caleb could see clearly when quickly and without warning the figure holding the knife vanished only to appear beside Isaiah bringing the knife down on him and putting it deeply in his back. Caleb could see the agony in Isaiah's eyes as the knife went into his skin. The figure quickly pulled the knife out and Isaiah fell to the ground in a puddle of his own blood. The figure vanished and appeared in front of Caleb, who was suddenly holding the knife in his hand. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as Caleb looked around trying to process everything that just happened in front of him. He looked from Isaiah who lay on the floor down to the blood tipped knife that he now held in his right hand. The rain slowly came to a stop and all was calm Caleb could feel that the water had soaked his clothing through. He dropped the knife and as it fell to the ground he felt a release over his body. As soon as he was able to Caleb dashed to Isaiah's body and dived to him, he reached out to touch him.

Caleb sat up quickly and gasped for air, he felt like crying he had never had such a nightmare before. Everything about it seemed so vivid and real. He slowly inhaled then exhaled trying to get control of his breath. He felt around his bed, he could feel that it was wet and he was soaked all over. He rubbed his hand over the wet spot on the bed hoping that it was only sweat as he rolled down the covers and sat his feet on the cold floor. He rubbed his hand through his hair and looked at his clock that sat on the table by the bed. It was five in the morning he would have to get up in a few hours anyway but Caleb didn't feel like changing the blankets on his bed. Caleb stood up and grabbed a heavy blanket from the foot of his bed and one of the dry pillows, he walked out of his bedroom and down the hall, stopping at Caesars door. Caleb stood at the door and looked down at his feet before raising a hand and lightly knocking on the door. He didn't care about sleeping on the floor or not he just didn't want to be left alone right now. He listened at the door for any sign of movement, because of his duties Caesar was a light sleeper. There were times when Caleb was sick when he was younger that Caleb didn't even have to make a loud noise and Caesar would hear him. He could hear some light footsteps then nothing when the door opened. Caesar stood there in his house coat, Caleb looked up at him illuminated by the small light coming from the background. A small lamp on Caesars bed table. Without saying a word Caleb looked down at his feet again.

"Are you alright, young one?" asked Caesar concerned. It had certainly been a long time since Caleb had shown up at his door in the middle of the night. Caleb didn't speak, just shaking his head "no" as his answer, Caleb sniffled quietly, crying to himself after thinking more about the nightmare he had just had. "Come here, my boy." Caesar put a comforting hand on the back of Caleb's head and pulled him into him. Caleb stood their holding onto the blanket and pillow he brought with him and cried into Caesars shoulder while he ran a comforting hand over Caleb's head. "I heard your conversation with your parents earlier. It's okay sobrino, you did good. Isaiah will thank you." Caesar comforted Caleb. "I take it from the looks of things you're going to be making use of my floor?" Caleb nodded his head still staying silent. Caesar took a step back and smiled at Caleb then stepped aside. "Come on in then seven o clock comes quickly." Caleb walked in and made his bed on the floor and Caesar shut the door. Caesar gave one last reassuring smile before walking over and shutting off the light. Caleb could hear him climbing into bed as he laid his head down on his pillow to try and salvage what was left of the night, just knowing he wasn't alone was reassuring enough for him to fall asleep quickly and easily.

Isaiah opened his eyes to see one of the nurses bent over his chest inspecting the wound. He laid still for a few minutes and watched as she carefully lowered the blankets to his waist and delicately opened his shirt at the front of it. Isaiah could feel the ache all over his body from the beating, he could only imagine what his face must look like. The nurse stood up briefly and saw that he was awake and smiled at him. It wasn't any of the nurses that he had seen already, she was significantly younger than the others from what he could tell probably somewhere in her mid to late twenties.

"How're you feeling this morning?" she asked.

"Sore, everything is aching," said Isaiah quietly.

"Yeah, well that's certainly no surprise. I really hope they catch the animals that did this to you." The nurse reached down and started to gently tug at the tape holding the dressing on his chest and started to remove it. Isaiah could feel the dressing sticking to him as she peeled it back, it didn't hurt but it was causing him some discomfort. The expression on his face must have reflected this as the nurse stopped and looked at him still holding the ends of it. "Are you okay?" Isaiah nodded and she continued what she was doing. "So after you're done school where are you planning on going Isaiah?" It was clear that she was trying to distract Isaiah from what she was doing to take his mind off of the discomfort. "I mean are you going right into the work force, taking a trade, travelling? University maybe?" She looked at him with a smile on her face as she talked she was clearly good at what she was doing she didn't stop.

"I'm planning on university, but I'm not sure which one yet," said Isaiah, "I've applied at the two in Halifax."

"That's awesome they're both pretty high profile. What are you taking?"

"Um English," Isaiah paused, "What's your name?"

"Oh my name is Jennifer but you can call me Jenn." Jennifer pulled the dressing all the way off and sat it on the small tray behind her. "There goes the hard part." She smiled at him from over her shoulder then turned and took a closer look at the stitches in his wound. "Looks good so far, there is no seepage or any redness. I'm just gonna leave it like that for a few minutes to let it get some air before I redress it." Isaiah took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling resisting the urge to look down at it. "Does it hurt?" asked Jennifer concerned.

"No," Isaiah shook his head, "I just don't wanna see it yet." Isaiah tightly closed his eyes and took another deep breath. "Can you just cover it please... with something." Isaiah gave her a desperate look she appeared to be thinking about what to cover it with when she suddenly threw a hand towel over his face. Isaiah exhaled and relaxed. "Not quite what I was thinking but I guess it works."

"It's just that we have to let it breath a bit hopefully this will be the last dressing the doctor wants on it, but he'll let us know before you leave today." Isaiah sat for a few seconds with the towel on his face thinking and realised that his mother was not there.

"Um did you see where my mother went?" he asked.

"Oh she said she'd be back shortly she went home to change her cloths and I think she might have wanted to grab something to eat," explained Jennifer. Jennifer looked up at the clock then back to Isaiah. "But that was almost an hour ago now."

"What time is it anyway?"

"Oh it's six thirty." Isaiah began to think that the day was going to be a long one especially if he had to lay in the bed all day. The two of them sat for what seemed like a few minutes but was probably only seconds in silence. Jennifer seemed to be looking around the room she had a questioning look on her face before she looked down at him.

"I can't believe they don't have a television in here or something."

"Yeah, you're telling me," said Isaiah light heartedly, "Mind getting me a book or something?" Isaiah reached up and took the towel off his face but left it around his neck so he wouldn't want to look down.

"We only have magazines," she said with a strange look on her face, "Is that okay?"

"Beggars can't be choosers I guess," shrugged Isaiah.

"Yeah you didn't really look like much of a magazine reader." Jennifer walked out of the room and presumably into the lobby. Isaiah sat and found himself glancing down at the wound not able to see it without moving his head. It wasn't long before Jennifer returned with a stack of magazines for him to look through and sat them on a small table in arms reach of his bed. "This should be enough to keep you for the day," she paused as she took another glance at the stitches, "I'd say that's enough let's get that bandaged up." Jennifer picked up the new wrapping and started to prep it.

"Okay, do I have to do anything?"

"All you have to do is be still." Isaiah nodded his head and watched as she applied the white pad to his chest. He could feel the pad starting to stick to the wound as she gently applied pressure to it he felt a slight discomfort but no actual pain. "Now I just have to seal it down and I'll get off your chest about it." She smiled at him after her clear attempt at corny hospital humour, Isaiah smiled back appreciating her decent bedside manner. Jennifer dabbed the edges of the dressing with a wet cloth causing the adhesive on it to take hold of his skin. "And that does it," she said putting her tools back on the small table. "Enjoy your reading I'll be back to check on you later, I have to go finish my rounds."

"Okay, thank you." Isaiah wondered how many people she had in her care considering the hospital wasn't that big. He almost wanted her to stay so he could have someone to keep him company. Jennifer nodded at him and gave him one more smile before exiting the room. Isaiah picked up one of the magazines and started to look through it, mostly a collection of stories about different celebrities and the common placed add for a new product or clothing line. Isaiah didn't get the hype around celebrities, they were just normal people who had more money than most people. He didn't understand the big deal with who they were dating, if they were single or who their ideal mate would be. It seemed like it must be so hard for them to just be normal people. It wasn't long before the content of the magazine seen Isaiah slipping back to sleep. He hadn't seen his mother come back before falling back to sleep but he had only been awake for about fifteen minutes.

Caleb opened his eyes still laying on the floor in Caesar's room. Caesar had placed an alarm clock by his head, the hands on the old wind up alarm clock told Caleb it was quarter to seven. For the first time in awhile the house wasn't completely quiet, Caesar's bedroom was directly above the kitchen and he could hear the soft murmur of voices. This meant that his parents hadn't immediately gotten up and rushed off to work, probably because they were up late the night before arguing with him. Caleb sat up and rubbed his shoulder, it was sore from the way he had slept on the floor, even if it was only for a couple of hours. Caleb decided that he was too tired to worry about getting a shower as he walked to his bedroom to get a fresh pair of underwear and some new clothing. He walked into his closet and picked out some clothing he would be comfortable in for the day, a hooded sweater and some track pants that he would sometimes wear to practises. Caleb quickly got changed and went downstairs he walked into the kitchen. Caesar had made a full breakfast of bacon, eggs, pancakes, bagels and there was a fresh pot of coffee on the go. Caleb wished that they had picked another day to have a family breakfast, after the night he had had both with his parents and with Isaiah he didn't much feel like eating a whole lot. When Caesar saw him walk in he smiled at him and started to get up a plate for him. Caleb returned the smile and walked over to the table. His mother was at the counter pouring a fresh cup of coffee and then sat back down. His father was reading from the daily newspaper and he hadn't looked up from what he was doing. Caleb abruptly pulled out his seat and sat down causing Gordon to look at him over his paper.

"Good morning Caleb," he said with little expression in his face, "How did you sleep?" Caleb wasn't surprised that his father was acting like nothing had happened the night before. Just as he suspected it was something that they had been known for. Caleb couldn't help but feel awkward about the question. They had to know he didn't sleep the full night in his own bedroom so he clearly hadn't slept well. Caesar rested the plate he had gotten ready for him in front of him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder briefly then went back to what he was doing. "Well?" Gordon lowered his paper to the table and sat staring at Caleb. "I asked you a question Caleb." Gordon briefly looked him over looking at what he was wearing. "Why are you dressed like that?"

"Well I slept, we can say that," said Caleb not indicating for good or bad, "And I'm just dressing like this because it's comfortable." Barbara sat down at the table across from him and took a sip from her coffee before sitting the cup down in front of her.

"What is Sheena going to say about that?" she asked. Caleb suddenly realized that he hadn't told his parents that he and Sheena weren't together anymore as he took a bite of his bagel. Caleb swallowed before speaking up.

"Doesn't matter we're not together anymore," he said taking a quick drink of the orange juice Caesar had set out for him. Gordon simply looked up at him then went back to his paper.

"That's good, with how vapid her mother is I don't see her with much of a future anyway. You don't need to end up with someone who you're taking care of." Caleb's father never liked Sheena, particularly after they had found the marijuana in his drawer awhile back.

"I'm sorry to hear that Caleb, are you okay?" asked Barbara. Caleb nodded his head taking another small bite of his bagel. "Well when did all this happen?"

"Saturday, I really don't wanna talk about her right now though mom, if you don't mind," said Caleb turning his attention to his mother. The last person he wanted to be thinking about was Sheena since he was almost sure that she had some kind of hand in the events of the nights past. Caleb also didn't feel like talking to either of his parents right now, he was sick of the fact that they could almost completely attack him as they had last night then proceed like nothing had even happened. He was annoyed at the illusion of perfection they liked to portray. Caesar shortly joined them at the table and went about eating his meal. It wasn't long before everyone else did the same, Caleb slowly picked at his plate but in the end didn't eat very much feeling almost sick to his stomach. Caleb looked at the clock and it was only seven thirty, too early for him to leave for school but he wanted to go see Isaiah before he went to school anyway. Caleb stood up and walked over to the key rack where he expected to see the keys to the truck. As a rule Caesar would put them there if he found them lying around the house. He put his hand up to take the keys that hung there. "I'm going to head out now, I'm going to go see Isaiah before I go to school," explained Caleb, "I see you guys tonight."

"Caleb, I think you better leave the truck here please," said Gordon quickly. Caleb looked back to see him sit the newspaper aside and look at him.

"Why?" he asked knowing that this would be his punishment for last night.

"After last night you're lucky that you'll have it back this week, now the bus will be here soon so you better get moving." Caleb dropped his hand to his side and stood there for a few seconds. "You can have it back tomorrow." Caleb let out a frustrated sigh and walked out of the kitchen. He quickly went up to his room and grabbed a couple of his books off his desk that he knew he was going to need for the day. Caleb slid on his sneakers and ran downstairs the bus would be there any minute, and since he didn't plan on catching it, now he'd have to hurry.

As he stepped out onto the foyer he could see the bus heading down the street toward his stop. Caleb walked at a steady pace toward the end of his driveway, now that the bus driver could see him he knew they wouldn't just pass him by. Caleb made it to the end of the driveway just as the bus pulled to a stop. The doors on the side of the bus opened as the arm extended on the bus and Caleb stepped up in, greeting the bus driver with a nod and a grin. Caleb took a look around at the crowd on the bus, mostly a lot of the younger kids sat at the front of the bus but he could see his former crowd of friends sitting in the back. Sheena was sitting in her usual spot only Chris was sitting with her, not something he was shocked over. Chris had always made it clear that he was interested and now that Caleb wasn't with Sheena she would need a new trophy to boy around. Caleb put his hood up and sat down only a few seats back from the driver. He had a feeling that the usual half hour bus ride was about to feel a lot longer.

"Hey did you see that?" Jonathan was sitting with Andrew and Mike at the very back of the bus, he had noticed that Caleb deliberately avoided them. "You guys should go say hi." Mike and Andrew looked at Jonathan then at each other and up to Caleb.

"Why us, why not you?" asked Andrew.

"Yeah you've always been his best friend," said Mike. Mike and Andrew both sat staring at Jonathan not knowing what had happened the night before. Jonathan had a bit of a smirk on his face.

"Yeah that's not gonna fly, last night we almost got into it at the hospital," said Jonathan, "He's not the same guy anymore, we're not friends now." Jonathan sat back and got comfortable. "He's too busy worrying about his boyfriend Isaiah to be the same guy." Andrew and Mike both laughed at the comment before looking back toward Caleb.

"We should go say something," said Mike. Mike looked at his brother and signalled for him to follow him. They waited for the bus driver to have his attention fixated away from the mirror and started their way to the seat behind Caleb. "Come on." Andrew followed Mike the up the aisle and they sat in the seat behind Caleb. Caleb heard them sit down and just lifted his feet up sitting with his arms around his knees. He knew that they had probably been talking to Jonathan and he didn't really feel like trying to explain last night to them. "So is he okay?" said Mike upon sitting down, "Jonathan told us what happened." Caleb started to think about everything again and struggled to maintain control of his emotions. When he was sure he had removed any trace of what he was feeling from his face, he sat sideways on the seat so he could look at them.

"Yeah he should be fine, pretty shaken up though," said Caleb in a low tone. Caleb looked from Andrew to Mike quickly looking for any signs that they might be putting up a front, but it was still too early to tell.

"I wonder who did it?" said Andrew rather suddenly, "He wasn't even in the locker room until after everyone was gone." Andrew looked from Caleb to Mike and then back to Caleb again. "I think he was talking to someone outside."

"You don't think he like, hit on someone do ya?" asked Mike. Caleb looked at Mike with a convicting stare letting him know his disgust in what he said.

"He was outside talking to Stephanie," he said quickly. Caleb wanted to put a stop to what he was saying immediately, Isaiah didn't need another rumour floating around him or for people to think that he deserved what he got. "And even if what you're saying is true, which it isn't, there's no way that someone could deserve what happened to him last night."

"Hey man I'm just putting it out there."

"And you're wrong," Caleb found his patience growing thin very quickly. He was already emotional as it was and the fact that he had gotten very little sleep in the past few days, was just making it worse. "Besides I've already got a bit of an idea of who was behind it anyway, I'm just not going to say anything until I'm sure of it." Andrew and Mike were starting to catch the vibe that Caleb was irritated with them and had decided it was time to leave him alone.

"Hey dude we'll see you in class later okay," said Andrew. Caleb just sat staring straight ahead from his seat not wanting to even look at them at them anymore. Andrew and Mike quickly made their way back to the seat close to Jonathan. "Man something is up there, he's acting totally weird." Andrew made himself comfortable as he spoke situating himself in the seat.

"That's what I've been saying for since the party he's different," said Jonathan, "I don't know for sure but I think Isaiah got to him."

Sheena sat in her usual place and could hear Jonathan, Andrew and Mike talking about Caleb. She knew that what she had set Isaiah up with was the best way to get to him and she thought it safe to assume on how he looked that she was right. Caleb wasn't his usual confident self today. His posture was slouched, he was dressed horribly, he was quiet and he was sitting curled up in his seat like a helpless child. Sheena couldn't help but feel proud of herself, she finally felt like she had won, but she didn't feel like she had finished what she started. Now that she had him down she figured it was time to hit him hard but she wasn't sure what she should do just yet. She looked over at Chris, now that she had him she didn't need Caleb, he was slightly thinner then Caleb but otherwise he was still the next best thing. He was attractive, tall, in shape, and rich, coming from a Mormon family, but he was completely different then Caleb personality wise. The good boy attitude that Caleb often displayed that would most times get on her nerves, was not something she had seen in Chris other then when he was around his parents. He was certainly what she would call her bad boy, he drank smoked both marijuana and cigarettes something that Caleb would never consider doing. One difference between Caleb and Chris that Sheena wasn't sure about was that Chris didn't seem like he would hesitate to hit her if she got him angry. They had already gotten into fights over a few trivial things, the kind of argument that Caleb would have easily backed down to, but Chris didn't. This was something that bothered her only because she wasn't used to having to watch her words around anyone, even her family. Chris looked at her and smiled.

"What's wrong?" he asked having noticed that she had been quiet. Sheena smiled back at him and shrugged her shoulders.

"Nothing, just thinking about everything," she answered. Sheena motioned for him to look over at Caleb. "I think I broke him." Sheena hadn't told Chris anything about what she saw in the stairwell the morning after the party, so she didn't really expect him to understand what she was really talking about.

"Well I bet you're pretty hard to get over." Chris put his arm around her and gave her an assuring squeeze. "Guy's an idiot to give you up."

Isaiah opened his eyes slowly waking up from a nap, he glanced up at the clock that told him it was half passed seven. Carla sat in the corner with her reading glasses on reading her favourite romance novel. Aside from her taste in content, Isaiah got a lot of his habits from his mother. He was pretty sure he got his book smarts from her, his mother had been working on university but then she got pregnant with him and decided to stop. Isaiah's father had promised to take care of her but after he had died from the cancer, she clearly had to take care of herself and Isaiah. Carla flipped a page and glanced up at him from her novel with a smile on her face.

"Good morning," she said, "How did you sleep?" Carla slipped a book mark into the book and sat it closed on her lap.

"Okay I guess, considering where I am," said Isaiah sitting up in the bed. As Isaiah sat up he felt a pain shoot through his side. Isaiah winced in pain and cried out as he leaned forward. Carla quickly stood up and walked to his side, she knelt over him with her hand on his back.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah I'm fine, it just hurts." Isaiah took a deep breath and sat up straight cradling his side. The pain felt almost like a day after going to the gym when you hadn't been there for a long time, but it was excruciatingly more painful. Isaiah let out a sigh and repositioned himself so he could lean against the back rest on the bed.

"You're probably going to be sore for a little while yet I imagine." Carla walked back over to her seat and sat back down as a nurse walked in holding a tray. The nurse was an older woman that Isaiah didn't really recognize but she was still somehow familiar.

"Time for breakfast hope you're hungry," she said as she sat the tray in the holder before wheeling it over to him. "How're you feeling this morning?" she asked.

"I'll live," said Isaiah. Isaiah looked at the food she brought in, it was just your basic bacon and eggs breakfast. Not something Isaiah was particularly fond of but considering he hadn't eaten anything since the night before, he would deal with it.

"Yes, well when your brother brought you in last night you were certainly in rough shape." Isaiah thought for a moment as to why the nurse would think Caleb was his brother and looked at her strangely.

"Brother?" said Carla, "Oh you mean Caleb?"

"Yeah, Caleb isn't my brother," said Isaiah almost laughing. The nurse suddenly looked uncomfortable and had a questioning inflection in her voice as she spoke.

"Oh, well," she said as she stood up, "I just assumed because of the way he held your hand and stayed here all night that he was your brother. You two must be close."

"He's my boyfriend . . ." said Isaiah quietly. A look of disgust was suddenly visible in the nurses gentle facial features.

"Well young man I hope you're ready to accept the consequences of your choice." The nurse's questioning tone had quickly changed to a vindictive one as she spoke. Carla at this point was extremely irritated, this was the first time she had to deal with this brand of ignorance. Isaiah looked over at her with a somewhat distraught look on his face. He had never dealt with this kind of ignorance from an adult before.

"Just what choice are you talking about?" Carla stood up to confront the nurse.

"The choice of homosexuality. I will pray for you to see the light." The condescending tone in the nurse's voice was enough to almost throw Carla into a rage.

"Before I leave here today, I'm going to talk to the hospital administration and have your job. You have no right to talk to me or my son like that!" Isaiah could see the anger burning through in Carla's face. Anger wasn't something that he was used to seeing in Carla making it that much more identifiable when it came about. The nurse's disgust quickly faded and turned to worry at the sound of Carla's anger.

"I'm sorry Ma'am, I should leave you two alone now," she said nervously. The nurse gave one more nervous smile and quickly exited the room. Carla's anger quickly left as the nurse walked out of the room. Carla walked back over to her son and put her arms around him in a reassuring and gentle hug.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too, Mom." Isaiah suddenly felt himself overcome with the urge to cry he tried but there was no way he could hold it back and started to cry into his mothers shoulder. He couldn't believe that someone could be so hate filled to say such things to someone who had just basically almost been killed for who they were. Carla hugged him slightly tighter being careful not to hurt him.

"I know, it hurts, but it'll be okay." Isaiah could hear the tears in his mother's voice, she had never had to deal with people's ignorance head on before either. Isaiah could only imagine the stress that his mother was under. He couldn't imagine watching a loved one go through this type of pain and suffering. He only hoped that he would be as strong as his mother was some day.

Caleb sat back in his desk as he watched the English teacher writing points of interest on the chalk board as he spoke. Caleb was sitting across the room from Sheena and the others clearly distancing himself from them. It was the last few minutes of class before the morning recess and Caleb hadn't really stopped thinking about Isaiah all day. He was worried about him even though he knew that his mother was with him and he was safe. Caleb wanted to go see him before school but before he could his father stopped him by taking his truck privileges for the day. Caleb couldn't help but miss him and given the circumstances of what had happened he just wanted to be near him. Caleb looked at the people sitting around him, he hadn't seen Casey all morning. He really didn't have anyone to sit with that he was familiar with or would really consider a friend. So he just placed himself as far away from Sheena as he could. This landed him next to a guy in the class named Robert, someone he hadn't really spoken to before but he never had anything against him. He was a person that was known for being friends with everyone but at the same time wasn't a popular guy. Christa sat in front of him, she was one of Casey's friends as far as he knew. Someone she would hang out with on the odd time she wasn't hanging out with Isaiah.

"Hey," whispered Robert, "did you hear about what happened in the field locker room?" Caleb had been hearing people talking about the incident all morning, there was no way he could not have heard about it. "They found a huge puddle of blood in there and there was blood all over the place." Caleb let out a sigh as he recalled the moment he walked in and found Isaiah and the blood on the floor.

"Yeah, man. I found the person that it came from," said Caleb trying to sound almost impartial. Robert gained a surprise look on his face and looked at Caleb intently.

"Really?" he asked. "Who was it? Are they okay? From what I heard, it looked like a murder scene."

"Yeah, it was pretty gruesome," said Caleb copying a note from the board, " but he's in the hospital right now. It was Isaiah Argent. He's on the team." Caleb was trying to give as little information as possible he didn't want people to know what had actually happened to Isaiah. But along with that thought he knew that there were probably already rumours circulating about what happened. Even if people didn't actually know what happened they would make up their own event, as with any cluster of teenagers.

"Oh man, that sucks. I hope he's alright."

"Well," Caleb realized that his attempt to sound impartial was about to become irrelevant as the next sentence came out of his mouth, "we were at the hospital all night last night. They ended up stitching him up and doing some tests on him to make sure nothing is damaged inside, but pretty sure he'll pull through." Robert nodded and smiled then turned toward the front of the room so he wouldn't be seen by the teacher, when Christa turned around with a look of worry on her face.

"Wow, that sucks," she said quickly, "I hope they find who did it."

"We will. Right after class, I'm going to tell the principal everything that happened."

Katelyn had overheard Caleb and the other students talking when she realized that they were talking about Isaiah. After finding out that Jonathan was the one that did it, she was having a hard time keeping quiet about it. It bothered her even more that Sheena seemingly collaborated with them. Katelyn was also starting to wonder who Sheena had actually seen Isaiah kiss, for her to become so hateful of him in just a weekend, she wondered if it wasn't Caleb. It would certainly make sense after seeing how Caleb had been hanging around with Isaiah lately. Not to mention the way he suddenly distancing himself seemingly from the rest of the team. Katelyn was also curious if Sheena and Stephanie had heard about the blood that was found in the locker room as it was a direct result of something they had a hand in.

"Did you guys hear about the blood they found in the locker room at the field?" she asked looking at Sheena and Stephanie. Sheena looked back at her with an almost annoyed look on her face.

"Yeah," Sheena answered casually, "I heard about it." Katelyn could tell that Sheena was holding back a smile.

"So that's from..." Katelyn started.

"...Yeah," Sheena interrupted Katelyn before she could finish her sentence.

"Kate, keep your voice down!" said Stephanie. "It's not like he's dead or something."

"How can you guys just sit there like that?" Katelyn had just about reached her boiling point with the whole situation, "Someone is obviously incredibly hurt and you both played a part in it!" Sheena's face had turned red with her frustration with Katelyn, but she didn't care.

"If you saw what I saw, you wouldn't feel so bad about it," said Sheena angrily.

"Wow," was all that Katelyn could say as she turned away from the people she had considered good friends but now wasn't so sure. They had all done some stuff in their lives that they weren't proud of but this was far beyond that and they didn't even seem like it was starting to bother them. Katelyn began to think that she wasn't sure how long she'd be able to keep something like this a secret, it was going to eat away at her sooner or later.

Caleb had been watching his phone all morning hoping that Isaiah would call him. He had tried to call the hospital during recess but he couldn't get through to the room. He sat back in his chair having completed all the notes watching the teacher finish up his lecture as the buzzer would be sounding any minute to signal the end of morning classes. Caleb was going to try and call again at the lunch hour to see if he could reach Isaiah, he just wanted to hear that he was alright. The teacher sat down at his desk just as the buzzer sounded to signal the end of class.

"Make sure you study this stuff guys it's on the exam," he said. Caleb quickly put his books away with one hand took out his phone with the other and started dialling the hospital's phone number. He zipped his back pack up and headed out of the room and down the hall, he figured he'd go to the cafeteria and sit and talk with Isaiah at a private table. Caleb pressed the call button and put the phone to his ear as he walked the now crowded hallway.

"Strathecona Memorial Hospital, how may I direct your call?" asked the receptionist.

"Um, can you put me through to Isaiah Argent's room," said Caleb.

"Do you have the room number?" Caleb was dreading her asking because he didn't have it, he had forgotten to get the actual room number the night before while everything was happening.

"No, I'm sorry," Caleb could hear the receptionist let out a small sigh in frustration, "Um, he was stitched up last night after getting attacked, if that helps."

"Well it certainly narrows it down." Caleb could hear her typing something on her computer. "Okay, I've got it I'll patch you through."

"Thank you." There were a couple of clicks in Caleb's ear as he was put through to the next line. The phone started to ring in his ear, it rang three times before anyone picked up.

"Hello," said Carla's voice.

"Hey," said Caleb happy that someone actually picked up. "Is Isaiah awake?"

"Oh hi Caleb, yes he's right here." Caleb could hear Carla passing the phone to Isaiah. Caleb was excited to hear his voice. He walked into the cafeteria and found a seat alone.

"Hello," said Isaiah quietly.

"Hey babe, how're you feelin?" Isaiah sounded tired almost making Caleb feel bad for calling but he was so happy to hear his voice that the guilt quickly passed.

"I'm so sore, I can only imagine what I'll feel like tomorrow." Despite the topic of conversation Isaiah did sound happy to hear from him.

"I'll be there as much as I physically can be."

"I know."

"Did you get the tests back yet?" Caleb quietly hoped to himself that everything was okay as he spoke.

"Yeah it came back good. The doctor said that I can expect to be light headed though for the next couple of days," explained Isaiah, "I just want this to all be over."

"I know, me too," said Caleb completely agreeing, "Soon." They both wanted this whole ordeal just to be over and done with.

"So how's your day been going so far? Are people talking about last night?" asked Isaiah. Caleb let out a sigh as he recalled having to listen to all the different people talking about the blood they found in the locker room.

"Yeah everyone's wondering about all the blood..." Caleb trailed off avoiding the other question.

"I'm going to go to the principal before I go home tomorrow," said Isaiah.

"You're going to come in tomorrow?"

"I can't not come in now, it's too close to the end of the year. If I'm going to get a scholarship, then I can't let those bullies win. Especially not now." Caleb couldn't help but admire Isaiah for his strength, if it had of been Caleb that got attacked he didn't think he would want to leave his house. He certainly wouldn't be thinking about school of any kind.

"Isaiah who are you talking to?" Caleb could hear Casey speaking in the background explaining why he hadn't seen her all day.

"I'll talk to you later tonight, okay?"

"Call me after school?" asked Caleb.

"Okay, see you soon." Caleb let Isaiah hang up the phone first and put his cell phone in his pants pocket. Caleb almost felt jealous that Casey was able to see him today, but he wouldn't let it bother him. He knew that Casey was someone who was there for Isaiah when he had no one else and that she always would be. He looked around he didn't really feel all that hungry he just wanted to go home and sleep, the lack of a decent night sleep over the last few days was starting to catch him. Caleb stood up remembering that he wanted to go to the principal about what had happened, nobody knew what had actually happened but they had found the scene that had sat over night. Caleb got up to walk out and met Sheena, Chris and the others on their way in at the doorway. Caleb just put his hood up and kept walking avoiding eye contact. Chris tried to block his way.

"Man what's gotten into you lately?" he asked. Sheena stepped in the door and turned around to look back at Chris.

"What are you wasting your time for Chris?" asked Sheena. Caleb glanced over his shoulder at Sheena before making eye contact with Chris.

"I'm alright man, just tired, little stressed with this whole thing with Isaiah," explained Caleb, "He's alright just bugs me that one of our teammates got attacked like this, you know." Chris almost seemed to gain a look of compassion in his face as Caleb spoke. Caleb played up the fact that he was tired trying to project as much of it as he could in his voice. He wasn't sure if Chris's compassion was for him or Isaiah.

"Alright dude, give me a call later or something, we'll hang out."

"Sure man, catch you later." Caleb was pretty sure that Chris had no intention of hanging out with him later, just as much as he had no intention of calling him. Caleb started to walk again heading toward the office, he wasn't sure what he was going to say yet but he had to let him know. It wouldn't make him popular with his team but he was going to recommend cancelling the game for Friday. Whether or not the people who did it were on the team Caleb had to make everyone realize that this wasn't something that would go unpunished regardless of who did it. He walked down the stairs to the ground level, the office was right at the bottom of the stairs to the left of him. He walked up to Mrs. Grayson the school secretary, she looked up at him with her usual welcoming smile.

"Afternoon Caleb, what can I do for you?" she asked. She looked him up and down once then made a strange face at him. "You alright dear, you don't look like yourself today." Caleb didn't feel like going through the whole ordeal with her.

"Yeah I'm okay, just tired today, I was up late last night."

"Oh really, what for?"

"That's actually what I'm here to see Mr. Campbell for. I know what happened in the gym last night." Mrs. Grayson's eyes widened and she picked up her portable phone putting it right to her mouth.

"Mr. Campbell, could you come to the office please, I have Caleb Rodriguez here." Caleb could hear the principal speaking from the other end even though it wasn't completely audible. "I know you're on lunch sir but it's important he says he knows what happened last night in the locker room." Mrs. Grayson listened for a several seconds. "Okay, I'll tell him." She put the phone down and smiled up at Caleb. "He'll be right here, just have a seat with his office." Caleb nodded and walked into the office, he sat in the chair in front of Mr. Campbell's desk and waited for him to get there. Caleb and the principal were in good standing, Mr. Campbell had gone to school with his father. It wasn't uncommon for them to chat once in awhile about different things, Mr. Campbell also trusted his judgement. Caleb knew that he if he said he thought he they should cancel the game even though it was the last in the season, then he'd do it. Caleb waited a few minutes before Mr. Campbell walked in. He smiled as he walked in and sat down.

"Good afternoon Caleb, how're you today?" he asked. Caleb returned the smile before speaking.

"I'm doing alright considering how the last day or so has been."

"Yes about that Mrs. Grayson said you had some information for me about last night," inquired Mr. Campbell. "Do you know what happened exactly?" Caleb thought for a second as he composed himself and starting putting the words together in his head, he didn't want to break down again like he did with Caesar.

"Yeah, I made a mistake setting my alarm yesterday for the wrong time and I slept in. I didn't get here until about nine 'o'clock," Caleb recalled, "I came in expecting to find Coach Adams here at least but I didn't find anyone, I found the puddle of blood, then I followed that and found Isaiah Argent. He was crying in the shower." Caleb took a deep breath to collect himself.

"It's okay son take your time," comforted Mr. Campbell.

"He was covered from the waist down in blood. Four guys jumped him when he was about to get into the shower, they knocked him out and he woke up like an hour later." The principal looked on intently clearly listening to him.

"Where did the blood come from, there's no way he bled that much just from a few cuts and bruises?" Mr. Campbell sat forward and crossed his hands on the desk.

"They carved the word FAG into his chest in capital letters." Mr. Campbell stared at Caleb almost disbelievingly, he was just as unable to believe what had happened as Caleb was. "That's what I thought too. I don't know how someone could do that to another human being and just walk away." Mr. Campbell abruptly picked up his phone and pushed the outgoing button.

"Hello Coach Adams? Yes I need you in my office now please, we need to talk about last night." Caleb hadn't even thought as to why Coach Adams was nowhere to be found last night and was wondering why he wasn't there himself. "I need you here now Burt, drop whatever else your doing." Mr. Campbell put the phone down and looked back at Caleb. "Did you even see Coach Adams there last night?" Caleb just shook his head no without speaking. "That explains why the place wasn't even locked up last night. To be honest Caleb I was hoping you were going to come in here and tell me that some guys just broke in and got into a fight. I'm tellin ya, this isn't good, this isn't good at all." Mr. Campbell rubbed his chin before letting out a sigh in frustration. "I can't believe this happened at my school."

"I think we should cancel Friday's game, sir," suggested Caleb.

"I'm thinking along those same lines, Caleb, but I think I'm going to do you one better." Just as Mr. Campbell finished his sentence Coach Adams walked into the room and shut the door. "Mr. Adams, Caleb and I have been talking about last night . . . where were you last night when all that happened?" Coach Adams had an almost dumbfounded look on his face as Mr. Campbell continued. "Caleb here tells me that four boys attacked Isaiah Argent, even went so far as to knock him out and carve a word into his body. There had to be some kind of noise when all this was going on. Where were you that you couldn't hear it? You know you're not supposed to leave that locker room until you've checked all of the students out properly." Coach Adams sat his clipboard down on the desk.

"I thought I had, I checked the last boys out at seven thirty," explained Adams.

"Why didn't you lock up?"

"I'm sure I did."

"Did you check Isaiah out?" Coach Adams and Mr. Campbell both looked at Caleb, as he spoke he looked at the Coach. Mr. Campbell looked from Caleb to Coach Adams.

"That's a good question Burt."

"I guess I didn't." Caleb was doing everything he could not to get up and knock Coach Adams out. Everything could have been prevented if he had just done his job and he knew that the principal felt the same way.

"Well, I'm sorry Burt, but effective immediately, I've got to put you on probation, pending a hearing with the school board. Your neglect and actions have directly caused a student's life to be in danger."

"What, what about the game, those kids worked so hard for this?"

"The game has been cancelled I've just got to put the call out. Caleb and I have spoken about this and we both agree."

"You and Caleb, I wasn't aware that the students here had any say in the official happenings at this school." Mr. Campbell looked at him and shrugged his shoulders then leaned back in his seat. The coach stormed out of the room clearly showing his frustration.

"You get back to your lunch Caleb, I've got some paperwork to do. I'll announce the cancellation of the game first thing this afternoon over the PA system," explained Mr. Campbell taking a pen and some papers out of his desk drawer. Caleb nodded at him and stood up to leave.

"Alright, thank you sir." Mr. Campbell nodded and forced a smile as Caleb turned and left the room.

Isaiah had spent the entire afternoon with Casey his mom had gone to work only having been able to get half of the day off. The doctor told him that he could leave but he just had to wait for his mother to get home from work, Casey was helping him pack up his stuff. Before she had left, Carla brought Isaiah a change of clothing. He sat up slowly on the bed, his body was aching all over and moving only made it worse. Isaiah slipped on the pants first figuring it would be the most painful considering he had to bend over to do it. He was happy to be going home and wanted to call Caleb so they could hang out later on that night.

"Did you need my help?" asked Casey.

"No I think I got it," said Isaiah pulling up his pants. Isaiah slowly put on his shirt and stood up.

"Just sit down I'll finish the rest of this."

"Why didn't you bring any of my homework with you?" Isaiah sat still on the bed watching Casey pack up the few belongings he had in the room with him. Mostly just the clothing from the night before and a couple of books Carla had left on the table.

"Um, because I skipped school today," said Casey sarcastically, "My best friend is in the hospital, bedridden, I wasn't going in today. It's not like I'll have any trouble catching up."

"I guess, but I might have some trouble," said Isaiah.

"Don't worry about it," Casey urged. Isaiah looked up at the clock, it was quarter to five and Carla would be there any minute to pick them up.

"I can't wait to see Caleb tonight," said Isaiah out of nowhere. Casey stopped what she was doing and looked at him smiling.

"You're so lucky, what's it like to be in love?" she asked. Isaiah just smiled and looked up at her not really sure if he could put what he wanted to say into words. "Is it at least as good as they say it is?"

"Yeah," Isaiah laughed a little bit before wincing at the pain. "Mom should be here soon to pick us up. Are you going to stick around the house for a bit or do you want us to drop you off at your house?" Isaiah loved Casey and was glad they had gotten to spend the time together but really wanted to go to Caleb's house when he got home. He just didn't want to say it to her for fear of offending her, he just hoped she would understand.

"I think I'll head home, I'm a little hungry and I could probably use a nap." Just as Casey finished her sentence Carla walked in holding her keys in her hand.

"How're you feeling Isaiah?" she asked.

"It hurts more now than it did earlier," said Isaiah, "I can only imagine what tomorrow is going to be like." Isaiah let out a quiet sigh then slowly stood up. "Well, what doesn't kill me ..." Isaiah trailed off not sure if he fully believed in the statement.

"Well let's get going, I don't know how you feel, but I would rather leave here sooner than later," said Carla, "You still have to speak to the police tonight about what happened." Isaiah looked up at his mother knowing that her intentions were good but he just wanted to take a night and not really think about what happened.

"If you don't mind, Mom I'm pretty sure that I'm going to spend all day tomorrow answering questions about what happened. I was kinda hoping just to go home and spend the rest of the night with Caleb," said Isaiah slowly standing up.

"I can understand why you want to Isaiah but this is something that's extremely important, we need to catch these people Isaiah." Isaiah just looked at his mother with a helpless look on his face, he didn't want to argue the point with her. "Alright, but tomorrow we are going to talk to your principal."

"Thanks mom."

"That's all of it," said Casey. She had a bag in her hand with all of their stuff in it. "Now let's get the hell out of here." Casey smiled at them and walked out of the room. Isaiah and Carla shortly followed. Isaiah walked as best he could, he found that as long as he didn't attempt to bend over he didn't feel a lot of pain, he just had to be careful in the way he moved. They walked down the hallway to the elevator and stepped in, Carla pushed the button for the ground floor. After a short elevator ride they stepped out into the lobby of the hospital. Isaiah recognized a few faces, the nurses that had cared for him. Jennifer smiled at him and gave him a slight nod as he walked passed her. The second nurse was at the reception desk looking over a leaflet, as she saw him she casually turned and walked away pretending not to notice him. Carla had spoken to the hospital administration before she left for work earlier that afternoon. They had assured her that they would take action but it would be dealt with internally. Carla hadn't been satisfied with it but felt there was really nothing more that she could do. Isaiah just felt like they were trying to pass her off, the women would probably get away with just a stern talking to or a slap on the wrist. They walked out into the parking lot, Casey opened the passenger side door before getting into the back seat. "Do you need any help getting in?" Isaiah stood by the car staring at the seat, think how much easier it would be to get up into Caleb's truck then it was about to be to sit down in his mothers compact car.

"Um, no?" he said with a questioning inflection. Isaiah slowly bent down to get into the car and could already feel the pain in his abdomen pushing through. "This really sucks, it hurts so much." Isaiah slowly got into the seat and pulled on his seat belt. He exhaled harshly as the pain as he was seated Carla closed the door behind him.

"Are you alright, dear?" asked Carla sitting down in the driver's seat next to him.

"Yeah I'll be okay." Carla started the car and began the short drive home.

"Carla, if you don't mind could you drop me home?" asked Casey leaning forward in between the seats.

"Sure Casey no problem." Carla smiled in the mirror back at Casey but kept her focus on the road. She took a turn deviating from the route home, heading toward Casey's house. Isaiah sat in the car for the drive the pain coming and going every time they went over a bump or took a turn in the road. He closed his eyes and put his head back in the seat trying to meditate a bit to try and ignore the pain, but it wasn't working. There was brief few moments that the car stopped, the pain was becoming overbearing to the point where it was all he could focus on. Everything that was happening around him was beginning to be nothing but a muffled voices and blurred images and before he knew it the car had stopped again and his mother was talking to him. "Isaiah, are you okay?" As she spoke her voice started to become clear again. "I think you better stay home tonight and get some rest." Carla took off her seat belt and started to get out of the car.

"No mom, I really wanna see Caleb, please," Isaiah pleaded.

"Isaiah, you're in so much pain you're practically delirious. Now we're going inside and you're going to lay down," Carla ordered. Isaiah knew at this point there was no point arguing with her, it wouldn't get him anywhere and in his current state he was at her mercy.


	9. Chapter 9: Aftermath

Caleb was laying in bed having just opened his eyes. He had woken up earlier to a door shutting telling him that his parents had already left for work. He had fallen back to sleep, but Caesar was up and about probably doing his morning routine, he had heard something bang a few minutes ago jolting him awake. Caleb looked over at his clock having forgotten to set the alarm the night before he thought it was probably a good thing that Caesar had awaken him. The face of the clock read seven forty-five. Part of him wanted to get up and leave right away so he could get to see Isaiah sooner but the other part wanted to lay there and die. He had had probably too much time to himself the night before just to think of what happened. He couldn't get it out of his head that it was his fault for not showing up, that they could have avoided the entire ordeal. Caesar knocked at the door.

"If you do not get up now, young one, you may be late for school," Caesar called through the door.

"Why can't I just stay home today?" asked Caleb sitting up slowly and rubbing his heavy eyes with the back of his hand.

"Well, you could if you wanted your parents to be upset," said Caesar giving him his options, "I meant to ask you when the game was on Friday as well." Caleb got up and sat on the edge of his bed looking for his clothing.

"Yeah," he said reaching for a nearby pair of blue jeans, "that's cancelled."

"Cancelled? What on earth for? Are they expecting rain?" said Caesar not fully aware of what had happened.

"No. Isaiah was attacked in the locker room the other day and think that someone on the team did it so I told the principal we should cancel the game," said Caleb pulling up the jeans, "It's not like my parents were going to be there anyway." Caleb grabbed a black t-shirt off the bed post and stood up in a stretch.

"Caleb, you know your parents want to be." Caleb knew that what Caesar was saying was true but only partly. They may have wanted to be there, but they didn't want to enough or they would have the time to be.

"And yet still they never are." Caleb was sure that Caesar could hear the frustration in his voice he also knew that it wasn't just his parents that were bothering him.

"Is Isaiah, okay," he said out of nowhere.

"Well," Caleb paused, "he's alive." Caleb stepped out of the bedroom, Caesar stood there waiting for him. Not wanting Caesar to see the tears starting to form in his eyes, head walked downstairs toward the kitchen. Caesar followed him. "You wouldn't believe what they did to him. It's brutal." The two of them walked into the kitchen, Caesar motioned for Caleb to sit down at the table and walked over to the counter.

"Your breakfast is already on the table, my boy." Caleb sat down at the table Caesar had made him some home-made waffles and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. "What did they do him?" Caesar looked at Caleb intently ready to take in what he was about to say, it was clear that it was bothering him.

"Well," Caleb took a forkful of his waffle and ate before continuing, "they beat him down pretty badly, but that's not the worst part of it." Caleb paused not fully sure that Caesar would understand what he was about to tell him next, being aware of the way people like him and Isaiah were treated in Caesars generation. "Caesar, they carved FAG into his chest in big capital letters." Caleb blurt out quickly and sat staring at him plate waiting for some kind of reaction.

"How was no one around to stop this?"

"Because I didn't go in on time. My alarm didn't go off." Caleb still stared at his plate not wanting to look up, fully aware that there was tears in his eyes that he couldn't control.

"Oh Caleb," said Caesar clearly taking sympathy on him, "you're not blaming yourself, are you?"

"Well, if I was smart enough to set an alarm right he might not be in this mess." Caleb sniffled and put his hand on his cheek still looking down. Caesar walked over to him and began to rub Caleb's back comfortingly.

"Caleb, you cannot take responsibility for this. You know he doesn't blame you. He's probably glad you were the one that found him." Caleb felt tremendously better than he did at the beginning of the conversation, but still couldn't shake the feeling that Isaiah might blame him and it was probably the most horrible feeling he'd ever felt.

"It was horrible," said Caleb recalling what he found when he walked into the locker room that night. He paused briefly as he relived it. "There was blood everywhere. I found him huddled in the shower room under the running water." It was clear that Caleb was fighting back the urge to break down and cry but then he wiped the tears away and kept speaking. "I don't know how anyone could something like this to another human being, especially someone who's never hurt anyone before." Caesar rubbed his hand through Caleb's hair still comforting him.

"Do you love him?" Caleb was silent having not expected Caesar to ask him so blatantly about it, not realizing how obvious he was really being. Caleb was terrified of what was about to happen next, if his family found out his life would be ruined. His father would have him shipped away to some reform camp and he'd never see Isaiah again. The tears he wiped away were again beginning to well up in his eyes, he wasn't sure what to say. He didn't want to lie but the truth could destroy him and everything he was. Caleb had never been so terrified as he was now, the next few minutes were the beginning of the rest of his life. In the next few minutes, he would either be liberated or destroyed.

"Yes," he said quietly, finally getting the strength to speak, "Is that wrong?" Caleb held his breath in wait for Caesars reaction.

"Love comes in a lot of forms but, if it's true, then it's never wrong." As Caesar finished speaking Caleb let out a sigh of relief. He slowly raised his head to look up at his uncle.

"I can't believe it. It hasn't been a week since I discovered that I could let myself feel this way," explained Caleb, trying to sum up his feelings, "and now it has completely taken me over." Caesar smiled at him and rested his hand on Caleb's shoulder.

"Then, it is by no means wrong, my sobrino." Caleb looked at Caesars hand resting on his shoulder before looking him in the eye again.

"You, won't tell my parents, will you?"

"Of course not," Caesar spoke quickly removing any doubts that Caleb had in his mind, "I will leave it until you're ready."

"Thank you, Tio." Caesar smiled down on Caleb with his usual comforting smile, the same smile that always made Caleb feel like everything was going to be okay.

"Now, let's get you off to school." The topic of conversation had taken Caleb's appetite away and it was after eight anyway. Caleb was happy that his uncle was able to accept the fact that he loved Isaiah, Caesar was the one he was most worried about having the issue with. He loved his parents but if they didn't accept his lifestyle then it wouldn't have bothered him a whole lot. They were barely in his life now, he figured what he didn't have he wouldn't miss, but if Caesar had decided that he didn't want to be part of his life then he wouldn't be able to handle it. With the exception of Isaiah he would feel completely alone. Caleb walked up to his bed room to grab his back pack and decided to change his clothing. Since he didn't get to see Isaiah last night he wanted to look his best for when he did see him. It bothered him that he couldn't see him but he respected the fact that after the incident, Carla wanted him to stay home. He went into his closet and put on the same blue shirt he had worn at the party and put on a pair of his black jeans. He threw his back pack over his shoulder and walked downstairs where Caesar met him with the keys to the truck. "Have a good day at school, young one."

"See you later, Caesar," Caleb smiled and was met with a smile back as he backed out through the door out into the yard where the truck was parked. The more Caleb thought about what Caesar said the better he felt, putting himself in a good mood for what would hopefully be a good day. Caleb sat his back pack in the back of the truck before getting in and starting the engine. He drove out of the yard and started to head toward school deciding to take the long road to have a few more minutes to think about everything. Caleb had never been so sure about his love for someone as he was with Isaiah and now that everything seemed to be falling into place he would have to tell him. He was sure that Isaiah already knew but they hadn't actually spoken the words yet, there had been a time or two where Caleb had almost slipped up and said it but stopped himself because he didn't want Isaiah to think he was fickle or clingy. It didn't seem like very long before Caleb pulled up to the back parking lot, it was ten minutes before classes were to start and the school grounds were empty. Caleb went inside through the back door, he would only have to go up a flight of stairs and he be at his first class.

It was around eight thirty and Isaiah stepped up to his locker and turned the combination lock to open it. It was right before home room and he had to get his books for class. Several people walked the halls staring at him, it was no wonder why they were looking at him. Overnight he had developed a full on black eye and the cuts on his face and bottom lip had become more prominent. He reached into his locker and the book he was reaching for dropped as he grabbed it. He looked at it for a short second before bending over to grab it. The pain shot up his side like a bullet causing him to fall to his knees, he cried out in pain trying to keep his voice down at the same time. He sat there on the ground cradling his side feeling like an invalid, people just walked by looking at him he was surprised that no one stopped to help him. He heard a familiar laugh from down the hall and looked up to see Sheena, Stephanie and Katelyn walking toward him. Sheena looked at him still smiling then whispered something to Stephanie as they passed by him, the two of them laugh. Isaiah stared at them as they passed by him, Katelyn looked over her shoulder at him, Isaiah looked away pretending not to have been staring at them. She walked back to him the frustration showing in her walk, she bent down to help him.

"Can you get up on your own?" she whispered as she picked up the book that his hand was resting on.

"Yeah." Isaiah stood up slowly and leaned against the lockers, she stands up and passes him the book he dropped.

"I really hope they catch who did this to you. No one deserves what you got." Isaiah was surprised to hear genuine sympathy in her voice as she spoke to him with sincerity.

"Thanks, Katelyn," Isaiah looked past her and could see Sheena and Stephanie staring at them with an almost sour look on their faces. "You should go. Your entourage is waiting."

"Yeah," Katelyn looked back at them before looking at Isaiah again, "I'll see you later." Katelyn smiled at him before turning to walk over to the girls and heading down the hall together. Isaiah turned his attention back to his locker and started rooting through it to look for his class planner. Jason approached him and leaned against the locker next to him.

"Man, you look like shit. How do you feel?" Isaiah stopped what he was doing and looked at him annoyed not appreciating the comment.

"Thanks," Isaiah paused briefly before turning back to his locker, "I feel okay, I guess. Have you seen Casey or Caleb today?"

"No, not yet. Didn't you see them on the bus?"

"I didn't take the bus this morning," said Isaiah still continuing to search his locker. "Dammit, must be at home."

"Well, I'll see you later." Jason walked away and was approached by another person a feet down the hall. Isaiah gave up looking coming to the assumption that his planner was at his house on his desk and started to head to class. He walked the crowded hallways careful not to bump into anyone. The last thing he needed was for someone to run into him and tear open his stitches. As he walked he met Andrew at the other end of the hallway from home room.

"Hey man, how ya feeling?" he asked.

"I'm a little sore," said Isaiah playing down the fact that he was almost in agony if he moved the wrong way, "More hurt than sore, I guess, though. I don't understand why they did it." Isaiah looked at the ground as he talked occasionally looking up at Andrew who was staring straight ahead as they walked side by side. "I've never done anything to tick anyone off, have I?"

"I don't know, man. Nothing that I can really think of, but there is that rumour floating around since the party, you know," explained Andrew, "That could piss people off." Isaiah stopped walking and Andrew looked back at him.

"Rumour?"

"Well, that guy you kissed."

"I'm so sick of this. Why do people care?" Frustrated Isaiah walked away from Andrew who just smiled at him once he was back to him.

"Faggot," he whispered under his breath. Isaiah stopped and looked back knowing what he had said. Andrew had already turned away from him, Isaiah let out a sigh before he turned and walked into class room. He slowly sat down in the desk behind behind Caleb's, there wasn't very many people in the room yet, there was still twenty minutes until class was going to start and the teacher was sitting going over some papers on his desk. Casey wasn't there yet and it was weird for her not to take the bus. He just assumed that she hadn't because she wasn't there yet she must have slept in and would probably be there any minute at that point. Isaiah had spoken to the principal when he first arrived earlier that morning. Carla drove him in and stayed with him while they spoke for the sole purpose of making sure he went in. Mr. Campbell had called in a police officer to sit with them while they spoke, they had asked him several questions about detail that he just couldn't recall and it had frustrated him that he couldn't be of more help, thankfully they had also given him back his cell phone. Isaiah was still hoping that he'd wake up and this would all be part of some horrible nightmare. Isaiah had sat there for what seemed like an hour alone before Casey walked in and sat down with him.

"How did last night go?" she asked. They hadn't talked all night and he didn't get a chance to tell her that he just ended up going home and pretty much going to bed.

"Mom wouldn't let me do anything," said Isaiah shaking his head.

"Oh?"

"Yeah I almost past out from the pain last night, it hurts just to move." Isaiah watched as the teacher stood up and walked toward him holding a small bundle of papers. This must have been the work that Casey didn't bring him yesterday.

"Hello, Isaiah. How're you feeling?" he asked.

"Um, okay," Isaiah forced a smile as he spoke, "could be better though.

"Well," the teacher returned the smile and passed him some papers, "I'm sure you will come around soon. But, in the meantime, this is the work you had missed and, if it were any other person, I probably wouldn't bother, but I'm sure you want to keep up on your work." Isaiah took the papers and sat them on his desk briefly scanning them with his eyes.

"Yeah thanks, I'll have it for you by the end of the day," Isaiah found comfort in knowing that at least the staff at his school didn't despise him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." The teacher smiled at him before walking back up to her desk and sitting down.

"I didn't see Caleb on the bus today, were you talking to him yet?" asked Casey.

"No I was going to ask, if you had seen him. If you were on the bus then why did you just get to class now?" he asked.

"I was down in the library helping the librarian putting some of the books away," explained Casey. Casey had a strange look on her face as if Isaiah should have known where she was. "Like I do every Thursday..." It didn't even sink in to Isaiah that a full day had passed while he was at the hospital.

"Sorry," he apologized, "I've been thinking it was Wednesday all morning." Isaiah looked up at the clock it was ten minutes until class was supposed to start. With the rumours floating around Isaiah didn't want someone to say something to Caleb before he could talk to him. He loved him so much that he didn't want to have any part in ruining his future or his relationship with his family. Isaiah was sure there was no way that Caleb's parents would accept their son loving another man. He decided that he would have to love Caleb enough to let him go. Caleb walked into the classroom and looked at Isaiah with a welcoming smile. Isaiah wanted to stand up and jump into his arms but instead he just smiled back. "Hey, thought you'd never get here."

"Yeah, I slept in," Caleb sat down in front of Isaiah and turned around. "Not exactly excited to come to school lately. Just seems like the more days go by, the more enemies I have." Caleb laughed it off but Isaiah could tell that it was something that was really bothering him.

"Why's that?" asked Casey picking up on the same feeling Isaiah did, making his decision all that more justified in letting him go.

"I got the principal to cancel the game on Friday, so now the team pretty much hates me," explained Caleb.

"Well, why did you do that?" Isaiah had no idea that they had cancelled the game, Caleb hadn't told him anything about it. "It's not like you can't win without me."

"To teach whoever did this a lesson," said Caleb, "Have you gone to the police yet?"

"Yeah, Mr. Campbell had an officer in the room while we were talking to him about everything. Seems like a nice guy."

"Is he hot?" asked Casey with her eyes wide. The both of them laughed, the cop was older so Isaiah had never really thought anything like that while he was talking to them. Casey was always good at putting him in a good mood, he assumed that's what she was trying to do. The laughing caused the pain to flare up slightly he discretely placed his hand on his stomach hoping to alleviate it a little.

"If you are into older guys, I guess," said Isaiah quietly. Caleb smiled at him before turning around to get out some of his school supplies. Sheena, Katelyn and Stephanie walked in and sat down on the other side of the room. Sheena and Stephanie both glanced over at them and giggled amongst themselves before looking through their back packs while Katelyn kept to herself. Isaiah tried not to look in their direction but Casey wasn't being discrete with her typical glare.

"Oh look, it's tramp patrol," she said making sure she was loud enough for them to hear her. Isaiah shook his head he hoped that someday Casey would just learn to keep her hatred to herself before it got her into trouble. Even though he hated Sheena and Stephanie as much as she did, he had gained a new respect for Katelyn after her assumed out of character display to show him sympathy in front of her judges.

"Well, Sheena is a bit of a bitch and Stephanie is an idiot, but Katelyn is pretty cool." Casey looked at Isaiah seemingly shocked at his words looking almost betrayed. Caleb had turned back around to face them. "She stopped and helped me earlier."

"More than a bit," said Caleb Isaiah assumed referring to Sheena. Isaiah looked at the time and class was about to start any minute Casey was making him feel awkward, he decided that now would be the best time to talk to him about their situation.

"Caleb, can we go talk somewhere private?" Caleb looked up at him, the look on his face told Isaiah that he knew something was wrong. "I need to talk to about something."

"Oh yeah, just leave me out of the conversation altogether," said Casey sarcastically.

"Sorry." Isaiah knew that the sarcasm was just to cover up the fact that she was jealous, he knew that she would get over it easily.

"Yeah," said Caleb standing, "whatever you need."

"Okay, we'll be back in a few minutes." Isaiah stood up slowly and walked out of the room, Caleb followed him. Caleb felt that something was wrong but he wasn't sure what, Isaiah had been acting differently since he got there this morning. He expected him to be different because of the attack but something was just off and he wasn't sure what it was.

"What is it you wanted to talk to me about?" he asked as they got out into the hall.

"Not yet," Isaiah looked around there were several students scattered throughout the hallway, there was no way they were going to get any privacy in the halls, "Can we go to the truck? Where's it parked?" Caleb gave him a strange look starting to feel worried about what Isaiah was going to tell him.

"Yeah, sure. It's out the back door."

"Okay." The two of them started walking and met Jonathan and Chris in the stairwell on their way downstairs. Isaiah stared straight ahead and kept walking.

"What the hell man?" said Chris. Isaiah looked back almost terrified that he was talking to him but he wasn't even looking at him. He looked up the steps and they were staring at Caleb.

"Why did you get Mr. Campbell to cancel the game? Why the hell did they put the coach on probation?" asked Jonathan taking up a hostile posture.

"Whatever man, I didn't make the decision, but whoever attacked Isaiah needs to see that there's repercussions for their actions," said Caleb defensively, "When people do stuff like this everyone has to suffer. How do you think he feels, we're not suffering nearly as much as he did?" Isaiah appreciated Caleb's attempt to make them understand but he didn't want them to hate him anymore than they already did. He didn't want them to direct anymore hatred at him than they already did on a daily basis.

"Says who?" asked Jonathan, "Do you know how many talent scouts were going to be there, I may not get my football scholarship because of you." Caleb started to walk away went Jonathan pushed him on his shoulder, Caleb stared at him surprised that he would actually lay a hand on him. "Not everyone can afford to just go to whatever school they want to, like you can Caleb." Isaiah watched Caleb closely hoping that he wouldn't hit Jonathan, the last thing he needed at this point was to get that on his record. Caleb glanced down at Isaiah who was giving him a hopeful look and discretely motioned for him to move on. Caleb shook his head and walked downstairs.

"That's right, go with your boyfriend, pussy!" yelled Jonathan. Something made a banging noise, they assumed that Jonathan had punched the window out of his frustration. Isaiah looked at Caleb, who just seemed to be ignoring what he had said as they stepped outside and walked the short distance to the truck. Caleb opened Isaiah's door and then ran around to the other side and got in. Isaiah sat up in the truck without any difficulty and looked at Caleb who was staring at him.

"Did you wanna go somewhere or what?" he asked.

"No, here is fine," said Isaiah looking down at his hands, "I just didn't want anyone to hear our conversation." Isaiah looked up at Caleb who staring at him intently.

"What did you wanna talk about? Are you okay?" Caleb's voice was shaky as he spoke, he had to know that something was up by now.

"Caleb, I'm fine. I wanted to talk about you."

"Me?" Caleb was surprised, "What about?"

"Caleb," Isaiah took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly before he finished speaking, "I think you should stay away from me for a little while." Isaiah did everything he could not to break out crying at the thought of not being with him.

"What?" Caleb felt his hands go numb and a sudden panic rushed over him, he had just told Caesar about Isaiah and got himself fully comfortable in their situation. It seemed like everything he had started to put together for a future for the two of them was now about to fall apart in front of him. He couldn't imagine being without Isaiah after everything they had gone through together. "Why?"

"People are talking about me. They're saying they saw me kiss a guy at the party and I'm pretty sure that's why those people did this to me." Caleb could tell that Isaiah was hurting as he spoke and wanted to just reach out and hug him but his frustration with what he was saying was making it hard for him to do anything. He felt weak all over his body.

"So what's that go to do with me?" he asked. Caleb was starting to breath heavily he just wanted to break down and cry.

"I don't want you to lose your reputation or your position with the team. What if Sheena goes and tells everyone about you?" Isaiah watched as Caleb started to tear up as he spoke, he knew what he was saying was just as hard for Caleb to hear as it was for him to say. He didn't want to rip his heart out but he didn't know any other way to say these words.

"Isaiah I don't care about all that as long as you're there with me to go through it all," Caleb took a deep breath he hoped that there was some way he could turn the whole thing around before everything was over. He didn't know where this sudden worry had come from, nothing that anyone said mattered to him anymore. He didn't care that his superficial life had fallen apart and he suddenly had someone in his life who he really loved and felt like he would be with him the rest of his life. All of the guys on the football team, including Jonathan, his self proclaimed best friend were only his friends because they played football together and they worked well on the team. But beyond that and a few parties they had absolutely nothing in common with one another. They had never had any deeply meaningful conversations like the one he and Isaiah had for eleven hours just on the phone.

"Caleb, you're only saying that now because you're not thinking right," Isaiah had hoped that Caleb wouldn't put up a fight, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to keep going as he tried hard to continue. The tears in his eyes were killing him. "If you lose your position on the team, you could lose your football scholarship." People were starting to gather at the exit they were in front of and Caleb didn't want anyone to hear them. He started the truck and pulled out and drove down the street. Isaiah looked at him and then looked out the window not appearing to have any objection to leaving.

"So what?" said Caleb, the football scholarship didn't matter to him at this point, "My parents can afford to pay for it. Isaiah, what makes you think that rumours bother me? I'm not going to lose anything because of you. Right now, I can't even bear the thought of not being with you." Caleb had decided to drive to the field they had first made love in, it was close to the school and he drove faster then he probably should confident that the police would ignore him like they did with anyone else. "Isaiah, you're all I have . . ." Caleb said quietly as he pulled into the field and parked the truck shutting the engine off.

"Caleb, come on. Please let me protect you," said Isaiah his emotions started to break him down, "I just feel like something horrible is going to happen and I don't know what, but if it happens to you then . . . then I. . ." Isaiah teared up and started to cry as he spoke he became more and more glad that Caleb put up a fight to him. It all let him know that everything was meant to be. Caleb moved over to him and they embraced, it seemed like Isaiah hadn't felt Caleb's touch for a life time. His warm embrace seemed to make the rest of the world disappear even if it was only for a short time. Isaiah closed his eyes and sat there listening to his breathing, he put his hand up and rested it on Caleb's chest, he could feel Caleb's heart pounding like a jack hammer.

"Shh, it's okay," whispered Caleb. Caleb pulled back slightly and ran his hand down Isaiah's head and rested it on the back of his neck. Their foreheads pressed together and they stared into each other's eyes. "I'm not going to do this without you; any of it. It doesn't matter what it costs me."

"Are you sure?" Isaiah reached up and touched Caleb's face. "There's no turning back once things start happening," he whispered.

"Yes, I'm sure." Caleb exhaled and smiled at him, "I was sure that night at the party. I," Caleb paused and the smile on his face turned to a serious intent look. "I think I love you, Isaiah." Isaiah hugged Caleb and buried his face into his shoulder, the pain of his injuries seemed to be nothing compared to the hurt that he had almost put on both of their hearts.

"I've loved you for so long. I just don't want anything to happen to you."

"Nothing will, babe," Caleb comforted, "Don't worry. Please."

"I'll try not to," said Isaiah still holding onto Caleb tightly.

"And, hey, if it does all come crashing down on me, you're worth it." Caleb pulled back and smiled at Isaiah tears streaking his face. He was overwhelmed with joy that everything was back to where he wanted it. He had told Isaiah how he felt and he returned the words. Caleb new now that everything Isaiah was saying was brought on by his fear for his safety, he felt that it was unjustified and even if it wasn't Caleb would protect them both. Isaiah reached up and touched Caleb's face with the back of his hand.

"So are you," he whispered. Caleb pulled Isaiah gently closer to him and the two of them sat quietly for several minutes enjoying the atmosphere they had created. Neither one of them wanted to the embrace to end but they knew they had to come back to reality soon.

"Should head back to school now?" Caleb asked quietly. He looked at the clock and they had been gone for almost a half hour. He didn't really care at this point, nothing else seemed to matter.

"I don't know," answered Isaiah, "I'm sick of answering the question, "are you okay?""

"Let's go back to my house for the day, then." Caleb suggested, feeling that a day together was what they both wanted. Isaiah sat back in the seat and smiled at him

"I'm cool with that if you are."

"Yeah my parents are out for the day." Caleb moved back over to the driver's seat and turned the key starting the truck. "Caesar is home but he won't bug us."

"Let's go then." Caleb put the truck in drive and pulled out of the field. The drive to Caleb's house seemed to pass by quickly and before Isaiah knew they were pulling up into his yard. Isaiah couldn't help but feel a little guilty for leaving school. Skipping class was something he had never done before, his mother would probably be mad if she found out. He had also forgotten about Casey and what her reaction was going to be when she realized that he and Caleb weren't coming back to class. Isaiah shook his head forgetting about it for now as Caleb opened the truck door for him. "Need help?" asked Caleb with a comforting smile. Isaiah felt stupid for trying to break up with Caleb now that it was all over with. He looked at him and realized that standing before him was the best thing to ever happen to him and it came exactly when it needed to.

"No thank you," Isaiah smiled as he stepped out of the vehicle. Isaiah wanted to kiss Caleb, he still wasn't used to having free reign and being able to just kiss him whenever he wanted to. Caleb started to walk toward the house when Isaiah walked up behind him. "Hey," he said quietly. Caleb turned around and Isaiah pulled him into a quick kiss then pulled back. Caleb didn't even care that they were in eye shot of the neighbours at this point and just smiled as Isaiah stood there staring at him. "I just wanted to kiss you."

"Cool." Caleb felt a little silly after speaking, that was all he could think of to say. The two of them walked toward the house and Caleb stopped for a second. Now would be a perfect time for him to show Isaiah his quiet spot. "Hey are you okay to go for a walk?" he asked.

"Sure, I guess," said Isaiah a little unsure of himself. The pain hadn't completely gone away but as time went by he seemed to be adjusting to it, he was fine as long as he didn't make any sudden movements or walk too quickly. "Where did you wanna walk to?"

"It's a place I like to go to, I want you to see it. Follow me." Caleb started to walk around the side of the house, Isaiah followed him not really sure of where they were going. "It's in the woods behind the house." Caleb walked ahead of Isaiah slightly leading the way. The sky had been cloudy for the better part of a day or so, but the sun had broken through to give the area a warm glow. It was still cloudy but the warm sun was shining down on them, Isaiah could feel the warmth on his skin. It was extremely relaxing as he walked, he hadn't gone for a walk in the forest since he was just a young child and he enjoyed the memory. He took in the familiar sights and smells touched his senses and a flood of memory's came back to him from his childhood. "I run this path every Saturday morning," said Caleb bringing Isaiah quickly back to reality. "Takes about an hour if I include the twenty minute stop I usually take."

"Cool. It's really pretty back here," said Isaiah. Caleb looked back at Isaiah and smiled as they continued to walk the path. The two of them walked for roughly another fifteen minutes, they took one more corner and the road went up a small hill. Isaiah could see that it opened up to a clearing, he could suddenly hear water running from somewhere nearby. Caleb stopped walking and looked back at him again smiling, then reached out his hand.

"Come on its right up here." As Isaiah got within arm's reach Caleb took his hand and pulled him gently up the hill. Isaiah could tell Caleb was excited to show him this place they were going to. When Caleb had taken his hand he almost felt his breath escape him for a moment. The more time he and Caleb spent together it seemed the sweeter Caleb became, he couldn't believe that someone like him had wasted himself on Sheena for so long. The two of them stepped out into the clearing still holding hands, the sight was certainly something to be beheld. The sun was reflecting off the water in the large pond in their faces. Caleb looked over at Isaiah and smiled waiting for his reaction Isaiah felt him squeeze his hand lightly.

"Wow," said Isaiah quietly. Caleb pulled Isaiah to the edge of the water and over to the large rock he would sit on.

"I like to come here to be alone," said Caleb, "Have a seat. I like to sit here some days and just sit alone with my own thoughts. You know it helps clear my head." Caleb sat down on the rock and Isaiah sat down slowly next to him. The surface of the stone was almost hot from the sun beating down on it, the warmth was already starting to make Isaiah feel tired. Normally he wouldn't have been affected but the severe lack of sleep over the past few days was catching up with him.

"Why did you want me to come here then?" asked Isaiah sliding his hand over Caleb's on the rock. "Everyone needs a place to be alone sometimes."

"I wanted to be alone, with you." Caleb looked at Isaiah as he touched his hand, his touch sent chills up arm and through his entire body. This was the first time they had really been alone since Isaiah had been put into the hospital and he wanted to make the most of it. Caleb reached up with his other hand and touched Isaiah's neck lightly then rested his hand there and smiled at him. Caleb gazed into Isaiah's eyes as he moved slowly toward him, everything seemed to be going in slow motion as their lips started to touch. Caleb closed his eyes, the touch of Isaiah's lips sending chills all through his body. He pushed into the kiss and Isaiah pushed back as their kiss evolved into a French kiss. Caleb felt Isaiah run his hand up his side, slowly making his way to his face. Caleb slowly pushed back on Isaiah wanting him to lay down, he put his hand lightly on Isaiah's abdomen to hopefully ease some of the pain Isaiah would undoubtedly feel. He pulled back from the kiss slightly. "Does it hurt?" he asked.

"A little." Caleb could feel Isaiah flinch under his hand as he slowly laid back on the rock. "Is it okay if we just kiss?" he asked as he rested on the rock.

"Okay?" Caleb laughed slightly, "It's great. I could kiss you all day. I could kiss your cheek, I could kiss your lips, I could even kiss your neck." Caleb kissed Isaiah on each spot as he spoke the words. Isaiah looked at Caleb thinking back to that moment in the locker room, he could remember thinking in the back of his head that he would never see Caleb again. Caleb smiled looking down at him and he reached up and touched his face almost wanting to cry with joy that they were sitting there together. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah," answered Isaiah quietly as he caressed Caleb's face. "I was just thinking. . ." Isaiah paused, "About the other night in the locker room."

"Why? Why can't we just forget about that?"

"Trust me I wanna forget it too, but we can't deny that it happened." Isaiah sat up and rested on his elbows looking down at the wound. "Especially since. . . whenever I look," Isaiah spoke slowly as he stared down at the wound. "In a mirror, I'm going to see it." Isaiah hadn't looked at it yet uncovered he had only felt it through his clothing. He purposely avoided the shower just so he didn't have to look at it.

"I know but regardless of that it isn't something we have to dwell on. You're going to be all right." Caleb leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

"Caleb I was thinking about you too. The other night I didn't think I'd ever see you again. Now we're sitting here like this, and it's perfect." Caleb couldn't help but smiled widely at him before leaning in to kiss him passionately again. He wanted to help Isaiah forget this whole ordeal or at least to put it behind him. Isaiah held onto him tightly as they kissed for what seemed like only minutes. The two of them laid on the rock in the sun kissing and petting each other until the clouds retook the sky and it and looked almost like it might rain. Isaiah watched as the clouds rolled back in covering the sun as Caleb kissed him. As much as he didn't want to stop what they were doing, he didn't feel like getting caught in the rain an hour from any shelter. "We should go back to the house," he whispered, "It might rain."

"You're right," said Caleb still laying in the same position. Caleb looked over his shoulder and into the air before kissing Isaiah one more time. He jumped to his feet and reached out his hand to help Isaiah up.

"Go slow." Isaiah reached out and took his hand and Caleb pulled him slowly to his feet and into a short hug. His wounds still hurt but he wasn't really paying too much attention to it so it didn't bother him all that much. Isaiah stepped down off the rock and Caleb followed him close behind as they started walking the way back to the house. Isaiah could hear the trees rustling as the wind started to pick up, it definitely sounded like they were in for a storm but Isaiah hadn't been able to check the forecast in a few days because of the incident. Caleb walked up behind him and took his hand and they continued to walk. For some reason all Caleb wanted to do was hold onto Isaiah in some form, he felt this was the best way for him to let him know that he was always going to be there and that he would never let go. "I think we should walk a little faster," said Isaiah.

The wind seemed to be getting stronger and Isaiah had started to feel small drops of water hitting his face. They had picked up their pace and before long they were back at the house and standing in the foyer. Caesar walked into the living room from the kitchen just as Caleb shut the door to the house. He looked at Caleb then Isaiah then back to Caleb again.

"Sorry Tio, we thought we'd just come back to the house for a bit, Isaiah isn't feeling all that great. We wanted some quiet time," explained Caleb seeming almost scattered in his thoughts. Caesar gave a soft welcoming smile in their direction.

"Of course sobrino, but the truck has been parked outside for close to two hours, where have you been?" Caesar smiled almost conniving, knowing that he was putting Caleb in an awkward position to explain himself. Caleb looked down to take off his sneakers and Caesar winked at Isaiah knowing full well what he had done. Isaiah smiled at him before laughing.

"Um," Caleb paused as he stood up and look at Isaiah for laughing, "I was just showing Isaiah my running path and the pond." Caleb leaned against the wall and smiled at Caesar. "Mom and dad aren't going to be here at all today are they?"

"Not that I've been made aware of, but I will let you know if I hear anything from them." Caesar sat on the couch and crossed his legs resting his hands on top of each other on his knee.

"Cool, if you don't mind we're going to go up to my room for a bit." Caesar nodded them off clearly already expecting that to be the case. Caleb started up the stairs and looked back at Isaiah who started to follow.

"I'm glad you're okay, Isaiah," said Caesar.

"Thank you," Isaiah smiled at Caesar who sat opening up the daily newspaper once more before following Caleb all the way up the stairs. They walked into Caleb's bedroom shortly Caleb sat at his desk and Isaiah took a seat on the bed. "I just wanna relax for a bit, the bruises on my stomach are hurting a lot. I don't think I should have done all the walking so soon after." Caleb smiled at him and walked around to the other side of the bed and laid down facing him. Isaiah turned around and put his feet up then laid down facing Caleb on the bed. He rested his hand on Caleb's face and the two of them laid there for a few minutes.

"So we're here. . ." Caleb sat up and looked at Isaiah seductively, "now what?"

"I don't know. You've obviously got something on your mind, though." Isaiah smiled and touched Caleb's chest when Caleb leaned in and kissed him.

"Maybe." Caleb pulled back and looked at Isaiah with a mixture of what Isaiah was sure was lust and love in his eyes.

"I don't know if I can do too much, though. I can barely move without something hurting right now." Isaiah looked at Caleb sitting there giving him that look, he wanted Caleb to just reach out and take him like that day in the truck but he knew wasn't really in any shape to reciprocate.

"You don't have to move." Caleb got up on his knees and lifted his shirt off over his head. Isaiah unable to resist what his body wanted to do sat up against the head board. He put his hand on Caleb's neck and gently pulled him into a deep kiss that lasted for several minutes. As they kissed Isaiah felt Caleb start to unbutton his shirt, he felt a rush of panic course through him at the thought of Caleb seeing the stitched up mess on his chest. Isaiah grabbed Caleb's wrists and stopped him then pulled from their kiss.

"No," he whispered.

"What's wrong?" asked Caleb confused.

"I don't want you to see it." Caleb hadn't even thought about the wound it didn't seem like a big deal to him.

"I already did, remember?" said Caleb. Caleb started to open Isaiah's shirt again.

"I know, but it's different now," said Isaiah stopping him again and starting to button up his shirt, "The stitches make it look a lot worse."

"It's okay. I don't care about that." Caleb felt Isaiah's tension leave as he looked at him trying to convey a comforting aura. He gently pushed Isaiah's hands away and opened the shirt, revealing the stitched carving. Caleb looked down at it, at first it didn't bother him but after a few seconds he started to feel anxious, Isaiah could hear his breathing pattern change. Caleb looked at the damage to Isaiah's otherwise beautiful body and a sense of responsibility began to flood into him again. He held back the urge to cry knowing that if he lost it than it would probably make it hard for Isaiah. Isaiah pulled the shirt closed and Caleb looked up at him.

"See, I told you," Isaiah tried to button up the shirt before attempting to get up but Caleb stopped him.

"I said I don't care," Caleb reiterated projecting strength and reassurance in his voice. Isaiah looked at him and let the shirt fall open. He sat there while Caleb started to kiss his neck and watched as he slowly moved down his chest moving right passed the wound. "I love you," Caleb whispered. Isaiah looked down at him and touched his face, he slid down laying on the bed again and pulled Caleb up on top of him. Caleb smiled and softly kissed him their lips barely touching. A few short seconds passed when Isaiah's phone started to ring from his pants pocket. "I don't suppose we can ignore that," Caleb kissed Isaiah's neck again, "can we?"

"I can't." Isaiah let out a frustrated sigh and put his head back if his mother called the phone and he didn't pick up she wouldn't be happy. "It might be my mother. She'd freak after what happened."

"Right. No caller ID." Isaiah took the phone from his pocket and put it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Where the hell are you?!" Casey was so loud from the other end of the line that Caleb could hear her clearly, "I thought you two were going to talk, not screw!" Caleb laughed quietly to himself at Casey's colourful choice of words.

"Damn."

"Sorry," Isaiah looked at him and smiled. "I guess I should have called you. We decided to take the day off today."

"Yeah, a heads up woulda been good," Casey was starting to calm down. "I'll cover for you, as always." Isaiah wasn't really sure what she meant with the last part of her comment, it wasn't like this was something he did often.

"Thanks, Casey."

"Yeah. I better at least get pictures or something for my troubles." Caleb's eyes widened in shock that she would be so bold, he wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic or seriously expected Isaiah to give her pictures of him. He laughed quietly and rested his forehead on Isaiah's shoulder.

"Man," he said in slight shock.

"I'll talk to you later, Casey." Isaiah closed his phone not waiting for a response from her and stuff it in his pocket. Caleb dropped down on the bed next to him and Isaiah turned on his side to look at him. "Can you believe that girl?"

"Sometimes," Caleb lay there thinking about Casey and Isaiah's relationship and wanted to try and get a better understanding of it. "So how long has she known about you anyway?" Caleb laid on his back in the bed Casey's phone call had certainly ruined the mood on him, he turned his head to look at Isaiah waiting for an answer.

"Well, since last year, I told her and my mother on my fifteenth birthday."

"Wow, well they certainly know about me now." Caleb shifted again trying to get comfortable, they were laying on their sides facing each other.

"Yeah," Isaiah paused not sure if Caleb was comfortable yet with people knowing, "I didn't tell my mother. She just kinda knew I was into you. She reads me really well. Unfortunately, makes lying really hard."

"You told Casey?" Isaiah looked at Caleb for a moment before speaking not sure if he was being questioned or if Caleb was just making conversation.

"Yeah, I knew she would never tell anyone. She's just that friend that I tell everything to, you know? You must have someone like that." Caleb smiled at Isaiah.

"Well, now I do. I never thought I could ever talk to Jonathan about a lot of the stuff normal friends would talk about. I guess that whole football player jock thing would get in our way."

"Yeah, who'da thunk it," said Isaiah clearly being sarcastic. He didn't like the whole stigma that surrounded football players, just because someone was on the football team meant they had to be a rough and tough guy all the time.

"So," While Caleb was on the topic of Isaiah's coming out, he wanted to see how his family had taken it, he had hoped to be able to gauge their reaction with the reaction he could expect from his parents, "how did you mom take to you coming out?"

"She was fine with it right away," Isaiah had considered himself blessed many times over for this. He had heard stories and read about people that had horrible experiences with their families as they came out. He read of people being shunned by their families, or being completely disowned or ever sent off to rehabilitation centers. "She had more concerns than anything. She thought I'd be alone forever here in this town. But not now." Isaiah paused and looked at Caleb almost unsure if the time was right for what he was about to say. "Do you think you'll ever be comfortable to come out and let everyone know we're together?" Caleb suddenly had a look of heavy thought come over his facial features he looked puzzled.

"I'm not sure, to be honest," It was something he had put thought into beyond the rage he would face from his father. "The only thing stopping me, other than my dad killing me, is that I don't want everyone to know me just for that one thing, you know." Caleb had heard about men and women in their small community being rumoured to be gay, they were all beyond his generation but the point was that, that was all people seem to know about them. "As soon as you come out, it seems like that's the only thing people know about you. Who cares that I'm captain of the football team or that you're completely brilliant." Isaiah could help but feel himself blush at the compliment. "We're gay, so that all falls into the shadows. I don't know if I want that to be me."

"It's true. Why can't people just love one another instead of having the label on their back?" Isaiah hadn't seen Caleb be this insightful before this nor had he heard anyone talk about it. "If you love someone, you love them for them, not for the physical part of it."

"Hey now, I happen to enjoy that too." Caleb smiled from ear to ear. "The physical is fun." Isaiah laughed quietly and pushed on Caleb's shoulder playfully.

"You know what I mean." Isaiah paused thinking about what Caleb had said about his father. "So, you think your dad is going to be mad if he finds out about us, huh?" Caleb seemed to get uncomfortable thinking about the question and the reality of the situation. He shifted his position to his back with his arms behind his head staring at the ceiling.

"Yeah," he shook his head, "probably furious. I don't know what he'd do, but he's got all the money in the world to do it with."

"It doesn't matter." Isaiah moved in closer to Caleb and rested his head on his chest and rested his hand on Caleb's stomach. "We can cross that bridge when we get to it. . . together." Isaiah was confident that no matter what came their way after all they had gone through already as long as they face it together, they could overcome it.

"Good." Caleb looked down at Isaiah and put his arm around him.

Casey had just gotten off her phone with Isaiah and Caleb, she understood but she didn't like the fact that he had just decided to leave and not tell her they weren't coming back. It was recess and without Isaiah she was stuck sitting alone in the cafeteria. Casey had other friends but she had a tendency of ditching them when Isaiah was around so most of them had just stopped bothering with her. She would have cliques of people that she would mix with when Isaiah wasn't around usually but they were all outside smoking. She knew that was where Sheena and her friends would be so she just avoided the situation altogether, knowing there would be some sort of altercation if she joined them. Casey sat her book bag up on the table she was sitting at and began digging through it for the novel she had been reading. It was part of a series of romance novels that she had been reading for a little while now, they were cheesy but she couldn't stand reading books for her age group. They always seemed very unimaginative and dumb down. Casey found the novel and put it down on the table when Jonathan walked up to her, she didn't see him coming until he had sat down across from her. She looked up at him almost sure that he immediate disgust was showing through her facial features as she waited for him to say something.

"Hey," he said softly, "what's up?" Jonathan smiled at Casey with his usual charming smile. He seemed to be trying to be get back in good with her, he knew that after the other night in the hospital she was furious with him for being so insensitive.

"I have nothing to say to you." Casey opened her book and leaned against the wall starting to read from where she left off.

"Come on Casey, what are you so mad about?" he asked. Casey couldn't believe he was being so stupid, she was sure he was playing stupid.

"How can you say that? After the other night at the hospital?" asked Casey angry, "Jonathan, Isaiah could have died the other night! He's my best friend. All you could think about was how late it was, it's not like you weren't up getting high anyway." Casey knew that Jonathan was known for staying up late and getting high with his friends or alone if they went home for the night. This was what was bothering her the most, he didn't care what happened.

"Casey, I'm sorry I just wanna get passed this," said Jonathan, "There's gotta be something I can do to make you forgive me. I know he's your best friend, but you know how I feel about Isaiah." Jonathan didn't seem to understand the fact that her and Isaiah were a package, if you wanted to be with one then you had to accept the other. Caleb seemed to immediately understand this but with Jonathan was still hanging on to his hatred for Isaiah.

"And that's the problem Jonathan, you don't seem to get it unless you can accept Isaiah for whoever he is, then you and I aren't going to be anything." Jonathan stared at her, looking like he just expected to her give in to him just because he was trying to be charming. "Now if you don't mind I'd like to read for the few minutes before I have to go back to class." Casey returned her attention to her book and Jonathan slammed his fist down on the table before getting up and storming away. Casey jumped but didn't let him see it. She knew that all he was doing was trying to intimidate her. Casey sat reading her book listening to the people around her, there didn't seem to be many people in the cafeteria. Just like the end of the year at any school a lot of people stayed home simply because they knew they could probably get away with it. There were certainly days when she wouldn't have minded staying home recently she almost had a perfect attendance score before Isaiah went into the hospital.

Casey couldn't help but feel a little remorse for Jonathan, only because he was in the process of losing his best friend. Now that Caleb was with Isaiah he spent more time than usual alone and with the way he felt about Isaiah it wasn't about to get any better. Casey wasn't sure how the rest of the school was going to react to finding out about the two of them but she knew for sure that Jonathan would be furious. She could tell that he was already suspicious about them. With what Sheena had spread around about Isaiah it only made things worse, she was sure that what had happened to Isaiah was the worst of what they would face. Casey had a sneaking suspicion that Sheena was behind the whole thing but until something happened that would let her prove it there was nothing she could do. Casey had just hoped that Isaiah and Caleb were ready for what they were facing, it seemed like every other day on the news they were talking about another teenager killing themselves because it all became too much to tolerate.

It didn't seem like the full time had passed but the buzzer went off signalling the end of recess and meaning it was time to go back to class. Casey stood up and saved her spot in her book by folding over the page before stuffing it back into the abyss that was her back pack. She threw the back pack over one shoulder and started her way back to class. Her next class was math and it was only to be a personal review class, they had finished all the work already so there was no real hurry for her to get back to class. Math had become one of Casey's favourite classes very early on in the year, not because she was a particular fan of math but because Sheena and most of the others weren't in it. She still had to deal with Katelyn but out of the three of them, she was the most tolerable most of the time. Usually anything that started between her and the other girls was instigated and brought on by Sheena. Casey walked into her class room and sat down, she had taken her time to get there so the classroom was already full. Katelyn had taken a seat in front of where Casey normally would sit, Casey looked over at where she normally sat and there was a random student sitting there. Casey quickly glanced around the room for another place to sit but all of the other seats were taken, she quietly took her seat hoping that Katelyn wasn't up to something or wasn't going to try and start with her. The teacher walked in and sat at the front of the room in his desk.

"Alright guys you know the drill for the day, go ahead and study your formulas," said Mr. Lautner, "I'll be here if you guys need any help with any of the material or if you have any questions on anything related to the final." Mr. Lautner picked up the text book and began to pour through it undoubtedly looking for questions to put on the exam. Casey took out her notes and started to get herself organized when Katelyn discretely turned to face her and dropped a small note on her desk before turning back around. Casey looked at the piece of paper instinctively wanting to just throw it to the floor and pretend she never put it there.

Against her better judgement Casey went ahead and opened up the note already expecting to be angry once she read the words. To her surprise the note read; _Where did Isaiah go? Is he alright?_ There was an indication on it for Casey to write a note back to her. _He and Caleb decided to duck out for the rest of the day. He's okay, just tired. And Caleb is getting attitude from the rest of the team about the game being cancelled._ Casey folded up the piece of paper and discretely passed it back to her. Katelyn read the paper and quickly wrote a response and sat it on Casey's desk again. Casey opened it up again reading the response. _I'm glad he's okay, seriously what kind of monster could do that to someone. Jonathan and Chris were really pissed about the cancellation, I don't think it really bothered the other guys too much._ Casey was surprised that her and Katelyn were able to communicate like this, it was almost like they were friends. Casey thought for a second as she wrote, Katelyn and her did have a lot in common. Despite the fact that they hung out with completely different groups, both of them were at the top of their class sometimes even competing for the tops spot. Casey had even seen Katelyn reading some of the same books as her on occasion, usually when Stephanie and Sheena weren't around. _Yeah they're both selfish idiots, especially Jonathan, they need to grow up._ Casey wrote back and passed the note back to Katelyn. It wasn't long before Katelyn passed the note back again. _I know, Jonathan is a total pig I hope you're done with him. You deserve better, text me instead so we don't get caught 506-555-3249._ Casey put the number into her phone quickly, hiding the phone itself under the desk so the teacher couldn't see. The teachers usually weren't too bad on review days when it came to cell phones but it was considered policy, like with most schools that students weren't supposed to use them in class. She crumpled up the piece of paper and put it in her back pack before texting Katelyn. Texting was a good method of communication for Casey because she was used to it and like most girls her age she could do it almost as fast as she could type with a keyboard. She had gotten used to it from texting her cousins that lived in different provinces. _I am done with him, I know he's a pig but I'm surprised to hear you say I can do better. Why the change of attitude all of a sudden?_ Casey sent the message and waited a few seconds before a message came back from Katelyn. _Well to be honest something Sheena and Stephanie had a part in recently really disgusted me. I'd rather not get into it in detail right now, but needless to say I'm on the market for new friends. And I figured since you and I are both going to Dal next year, you were a good place to start. If not than I understand, I know I haven't always been nice to you, it's up to you._ Casey was shocked at what she was reading she couldn't believe that Katelyn was giving her an apology. She also wondered what the others could of done to practically end their friendship. Casey was going to Dalhousie next year for the medical program but she didn't know how Katelyn knew. _Sounds like a plan we'll talk more after class or something._ Casey sent the message and in a few seconds Katelyn looked back at her and gave a discrete smile, Casey returned the smile and pulled out her novel to continue to read. Casey sat reading the class away when suddenly the personal announcement system sounded and Mr. Campbell's voice could be heard all through the school.

"Just a reminder to all students, that the game tomorrow is cancelled indefinitely. This is a step we have chosen to take in lieu of Tuesdays events. For those you who don't know or weren't aware of what happened; there were puddles of blood found in the football team's locker room on Wednesday morning. We later discovered that it was because of an extremely vicious attack, by four unknown assailants, on a member of the football team. Also we will be holding a meeting in the auditorium to discuss school policy on tolerance and violence. If you purchased tickets please see my secretary for a refund on your ticket. I do regret that it had to come to this, know that we are working with the Strathecona Police Department to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible, we ask that if you have any information at all please come forward as it may be helpful in apprehending the culprits," he explained. There were moans and groans from the students in the class room who had obviously purchased tickets to the game.

"That's stupid, some faggot got attacked and they cancel the game," said David Sanders. David was someone that Casey didn't really know but just at his comment she was already sure she hated him.

"Watch who you're talking about," she said standing up, "that's my best friend, David. And just so you know what they did to him he's going to have to live with for the rest of his life. He didn't do anything to deserve what he got." Casey couldn't believe what he had said, it was almost like dealing with Jonathan, but this person was someone who was completely out of the loop.

"Shut up you fat cow!" Casey felt the blood rushing to her face boiling with anger, it took everything she had to avoid jumping over the desk and rushing him and she was sure her face was blood red with anger. Mr. Lautner sat forward in his chair.

"Hey! Settle down that's enough Mr. Sanders you just earned yourself a trip to the office, and I'll be calling Mr. Campbell to let him know you're on your way. So don't be late," he said clearly angry at the words spoken and the disruption to his class.

"Man, whatever," sighed David standing up and gathering his things.

"Oh shut up David, stop acting like your father or you'll end up just like him," said Katelyn obviously knowing something that Casey didn't. David and the rest of the class looked at Katelyn seemingly surprised at the fact that she had stuck up for Casey. David glared at both of them on the way out, Casey wondered what the reference had to have been for him to get so upset.

"Get back to what you were doing guys, class is almost over," said Mr. Lautner sitting back down at his desk and picking up the small phone that hung from his side. All of the teachers used a special phone to communicate with each other specifically in making sure that students went to the office when they were supposed to. Katelyn glanced back at Casey and smiled. Casey simply mouthed the words "Thank you" and they went back to what they were doing.

Jonathan was sitting in the cafeteria having skipped his math class before lunch, along with Sheena, Chris and Stephanie. They had just heard the announcement play on the speaker and were venting their frustration. Jonathan was disturbed having seen Isaiah and Caleb leave together and to his knowledge they never came back. He wanted to know what they were doing, despite everything that had happened he still considered Caleb to be his best friend, he just wanted things to go back to normal. At the same time though he found himself in shock when the coach had told the team that he had been suspended for the time being and he wasn't sure when he would be back. He couldn't believe that Caleb had turned against them like that, he had to of known the damage he was doing, so many of the guys on the team were relying on the fact that the university scouts would be at the game. Now there was no telling what some of their futures were going to be like. A whole different turn had been taken. Jonathan wasn't too worried since he did already talk to a university and the coach would still give him a good reference but some of the other guys were going to be missing out on a huge opportunity. The relationship he had started to build with Casey, in hopes of it actually working out he was sure was now over. He was pretty sure at the way she had acted toward him that it was a done deal, even though he didn't really understand why she was so mad at him. She didn't know that it was his fault that Isaiah was now scared for the rest of his life, so why should she be mad at him just for not liking the guy. Thinking about it in detail, Jonathan began to envy Casey's friendship with Isaiah, he had never really had that kind of friend before, someone he really felt he could go to no matter what was wrong. He also thought for a moment that had he been the one laid up in the hospital, who would have been sitting there with him?

"Man I can't believe they cancelled the last game of the season, I'm so pissed," said Chris frustrated, "And wanna know what frustrates me even more?" Chris paused for a second Jonathan already knew what Chris was going to say. "The fact that Caleb went right along with it, what kind of a team leader burns his entire team."

"Yeah man that really ticks me off too," said Jonathan, "He's just not thinking clearly right now I don't think."

"Well it's the end of the year it's not like he can change his mind and put it all back the way it was supposed to be." Chris sat back against the wall the table was sitting against and Sheena sat down in front of him having been up getting something to snack on from the vending machines nearby.

"You'd be surprised how he can change his mind," she said. Jonathan looked at Sheena and Chris thinking that a week ago when she was with Caleb, she couldn't stand to be with any of them. Now they were practically doing her bidding for her and they had managed to form some kind of rebound relationship in the last week. She had been hanging out with them now more often then she had when she was with Caleb and Jonathan felt the urge to let her know that he still didn't like her.

"I don't remember asking you," he said plainly. Sheena looked at him clearly insulted. "What? Don't look at me surprised, I told you earlier this week I didn't have to pretend to like you anymore. Just because you're fucking another one of my friends," said Jonathan, putting emphasis on the word another, on purpose, "Doesn't mean that we're friends now, if anything it just gives me another reason to hate you." Sheena seemed to have her breath taken away from her as she listened to him.

"Man lay off, she's good with us now remember," said Chris, trying to stick up for Sheena.

"Man whatever she was never good with me, she's still a bitch, she just hasn't gotten you completely wrapped around her finger so she's not letting it out." Jonathan remembered when Caleb and Sheena had first gotten together, she wasn't that bad at first until Caleb started giving in to her as the relationship progressed.

"Well I'm not going to sit here and listen to this, I don't have to," Sheena started to pack up her stuff into her back pack as she spoke, "I'm not going to be told I'm a bitch by a good for nothing lowlife like you, you're just pissed off because now that the coach is suspended and that game isn't going to happen that you have no future to speak of. You're just going to end up like your parents." Sheena put her back pack over one shoulder and looked at Chris. "Are you coming?" Jonathan looked at Chris waiting for what he would do.

"Sorry man," he said giving a gesture with his hand before getting up to go with Sheena. Sheena looked at Stephanie assuming she would leave with them but she stayed put.

"I think I'm just gonna sit here and talk to Jonathan for a bit," she said. Jonathan was surprised at Stephanie disobeying her queen and staying behind. Sheena let out one last spoiled huff and her and Chris walked away. "I'll see you after lunch Sheena." Neither Sheena, or Chris looked back at her as they walked out of the room and she turned back to face Jonathan. "Her and Chris could use some time alone together."

"Man, I don't even care, I'm so sick of that bitch, I don't know how you put up with her."

"Well I don't really put up with her, she's my friend," explained Stephanie, "She was there for me when I had a pregnancy scare a year ago." Jonathan was almost speechless, only because Stephanie had never opened up to him before, they had been close in the past but they hadn't been for a long time. Stephanie got up and walked over to him. "Turn around," she said standing behind him. "Something tells me you need to relax a bit." Jonathan obliged and Stephanie stood behind him starting to rub his shoulders, she was right, he did need to relax for a bit. One of the reasons he had hoped to make up with Casey was that he felt with all the stress he really wanted to get off, he hadn't had sex since he and Casey had done it in the car that day. "Does that feel good?" she asked.

"Yeah, it would be good to relax a bit," said Jonathan. Stephanie could feel Jonathan relaxing as she rubbed his shoulders. Jonathan couldn't help but feel slightly aroused, he and Stephanie hadn't done anything sexual in a year or so, but it wasn't something he was against, even with her reputation it didn't matter to him. He turned to look back at her and smiled. "You, a . . ." Jonathan paused and looked her up and down before meeting her gaze, "wanna go somewhere a little more private?" he asked. Stephanie smiled back at him.

"I thought you'd never ask." Stephanie reached down and rubbed Jonathan's chest briefly as she walked to her back pack and picked it up. Jonathan stood up and walked out of the cafeteria Stephanie followed closely behind. Jonathan and Stephanie walked down stairs and headed for the maintenance closet. No one would go to the maintenance closet except for the janitor and it wouldn't be until everyone was gone that he would go there. "So here we are," said Stephanie taking a step forward and rubbing the crotch of his pants. Stephanie rubbed her hands up and down from Jonathan's crotch to his chest. Jonathan started to kiss her and put his hands on her buttock. He felt her grabbing at him and starting to undo his pants, Stephanie was known amongst the guys on the team as being the type to get straight to the point. Thus where she got her reputation, Jonathan decided to not let this time be any different, he undid his belt and dropped his pants down around his ankles and she started to go down on him, she performed on him for several minutes Jonathan let his head back and let out a quiet moan. Stephanie stopped what she was doing and stood up before starting to pull down her pants all the while rubbing him gently with her free hand. Stephanie gave him a kiss on the cheek before turning around. When they used to have sex before this was how Jonathan like it, she must of remembered it from before. Jonathan looked at her and began pushing her over to one of the nearby small tables he pushed himself into her and began to slowly grind into her. Jonathan could already feel himself relaxing and he began to go into a faster rhythm getting harder and harder. "Ow, Jonathan slow down a bit," she said quietly. Jonathan didn't seem to hear her as he began going harder and harder as if to be taking out his frustration on her body. "Jonathan, you're hurting me, slow down." Jonathan just kept going not really caring that she was begging him to stop. "Stop it." Stephanie struggled to try and free herself but Jonathan pushed her into the table as he performed his act of violence. "Hell." Stephanie attempted to call for help when Jonathan put his hand around her mouth stopping her.

"I'm almost there," he whispered. Jonathan began pushing himself into her as hard as he could be bringing himself closer to climax with every thrust. He could feel her tears run down her face onto his hand but he kept going letting any sympathy he might have held slip out of his body as he thrust himself upon her. After several minutes Jonathan gave one final thrust bringing himself to climax not bothering to pull out. He relaxed breathing heavily, letting his hands drop to his sides. Stephanie pulled away from him and turned around and looked at him for a few seconds with tears in her eyes. "What?" said Jonathan, wiping himself off. Jonathan pulled up his pants and did up his belt.

"I told you to stop," she cried quietly.

"Yeah and I didn't, but you helped me relax," Jonathan smiled at her, "Thanks." Stephanie quickly pulled up her pants. Jonathan knew that he lack of confidence would keep her from telling anyone and even if she did with her reputation, who would believe her. He grabbed his things and walked out of the room as the buzzer went off signalling the beginning of lunch hour.


	10. Chapter 10: The Truth

Sheena was sitting in her bedroom with Chris, Katelyn and Stephanie she looked up at the time and it was somewhere around five o clock in the evening. They had been there since school was done, more or less just hanging out and spending time together. She was more than happy with things the way they were now, Chris and her were doing well even though it had only been a few days since they made everything official, she could see a future with him. Something she had always thought that her and Caleb couldn't have on the count that she always had to tell him what to do. She had made up her mind that her and Chris were a much better match to one another, Chris just seemed all around better then Caleb now. Chris passed her a joint, she had been resting her head on his shoulder, and she took a long drag off it, they had been passing it around for a few minutes now and she had been waiting for it to get to her. As she inhaled, the familiar burn filled her lungs and she rejoiced in it for a few long seconds before passing it to Stephanie who was sitting across from her.

"So did anyone else notice that Caleb and Isaiah disappeared at the same time today?" Stephanie took a puff off the joint and passed it along to Chris. Sheena had noticed that Stephanie had been acting weird since lunch break this afternoon but she denied that there was anything wrong when Sheena asked her about it. She decided right now she would leave it alone until it started to become a nuisance to her, then she would deal with it.

"That's weird, you don't think they're like, you know?" asked Katelyn implying. Katelyn had decided that with so little time left in the school year it would just be best to keep the peace for the time being. Chris took a deep puff from the joint before passing it to Sheena again.

"Can't see that being the case," coughed Chris letting out the smoke.

"What if it is though? What if Caleb's a fag too?" Stephanie persisted.

"I don't know but we're not about to go and attack him in the locker room like we did Isaiah, Caleb's a big boy," Chris laughed casually. Sheena could see that Katelyn was suddenly uncomfortable, she knew how much Katelyn objected to how they had attacked Isaiah.

"What's up Kate?" she asked.

"I don't know I just feel horrible for that poor guy, after seeing him today and the shape he was in," Katelyn looked at Chris with an accusing gaze, "How could you take a knife to someone like that, what if he bled out?" Katelyn knew she was bringing up a dead argument, that they clearly felt no remorse for what happened.

"Hey I didn't use the knife man, Jonathan did," Chris explained seemingly trying to justify his participation.

"What an animal." Katelyn shook her head and lowered her head for a second before looking up at Sheena waiting for some kind of response. Stephanie lit up a cigarette and took a puff from it.

"I don't think the what if, really matters because it didn't happen. It could have been a little lighter on the wound but it still turned out fine for us."

"I feel a little guilty about it too, to be honest, but God hates fags right so we're good the way I look at it," said Stephanie smiling as she flicked her cigarette. Katelyn couldn't believe that these were the people she used to call her best friends, it almost seemed like some kind of demon started looking down on their town and was turning people into monsters one person at a time.

"What's gotten into you guys, Sheena not a week ago Isaiah was the one of those idiots that you didn't mind," Katelyn and Sheena had talked about this before so she decided to throw it in her face, she couldn't keep her mouth shut on the topic anymore, "you see him kiss a guy and you have all but a death wish for him?" Katelyn went silent for a minute lighting a cigarette to calm her nerves a bit, everyone stayed quiet at her outburst. "The way you're acting you'd think you saw him kissing Caleb not just any guy." Sheena could feel an anger burning inside her chest as she recalled walking up the stairs and catching Caleb and Isaiah in the act. She was sure it was showing through in her facial features, it was something that made her completely furious. She figured now was the time to let everyone know Caleb's secret.

"Well, I did tell you that he cheated on me right?" she said, quietly containing herself.

"Oh man no fucking way," said Chris almost jumping up out of his seat, "no fucking way is Caleb a fag!"

"It's true, I saw the two of them kissing right after Jonathan left that morning."

"Then why didn't you tell us before this?" asked Stephanie paying close attention to Sheena as she spoke. Sheena thought for a few seconds and put the joint out before she spoke.

"Well to be honest he asked me not to, after a three-year relationship I thought I owed him something but when I think about it he doesn't deserve any mercy. He can rot in hell," explained Sheena her bitterness shining through in her words. Chris sat back down and got comfortable again he sat looking back at Sheena.

"Sheena you better not be lying about this," said Chris, "it was one thing when it was someone who everyone already thought was, but Caleb? That won't go down well if you're wrong." Sheena glared at Chris for doubting her.

"I know I'm right, I'll prove it to you soon." Katelyn listened to Sheena speaking, there was a certain deviousness that was there that was even unusual for her to speak with.

"Sheena, no more can we stop this now please?" she pleaded. Sheena just looked at her and Katelyn knew that the plea was going unheard. "Why can't we just stop before someone else gets hurt? You've gotten back at Isaiah now why can't you just leave it alone now? Why go the extra step?" Sheena's patience with Katelyn's sympathy for Isaiah and now Caleb, was wearing very thin.

"Because, he lied to me. If he had of broken it off with me before all this happened then fine I wouldn't have cared in the least," she explained. "I wanna show that bastard that this is what he gets for cheating on me." Sheena quickly made up her mind that she was going to tell everyone and with the end of the year being so close she would have to work quickly. "In fact tomorrow when we are at that meeting in the auditorium, I'm going to tell the entire school that they're both fags."

"But what does that prove?" Katelyn could feel that she was fighting a losing battle and that Sheena was hell bent on doing this.

"I'm not out to prove anything," snapped Sheena, "I'm just going to make sure that he feels as much pain as I did that day, I don't care if its emotional, physical or whatever as long as he suffers." Katelyn could see the anger brimming in Sheena's eyes and hear it in her voice as she spoke deciding that there was no way she'd be able to convince her against what she was about to do. "Why don't you guys leave? Now I'm irritated." Chris looked at Sheena surprised. "Not you, but you guys should go I'll see you tomorrow at school or something." Katelyn took a deep breath and stood up, picking up her back pack.

"Alright sounds like a plan," said Katelyn hinting at sarcasm, "Stephanie you wanna walk with me?" Katelyn watched as Stephanie stood up, waiting for an answer.

"I'm going in the opposite direction, I need a coffee, feeling a little blah right now." Katelyn shrugged her shoulders and left the room.

Caleb opened his eyes to the sound movement downstairs as he realized that he and Isaiah dozed off together on his bed, he looked at the time and it was almost four thirty. He looked over at Isaiah who was cuddled up beside him under his arm. They had laid on the bed to watch a movie and fallen asleep somewhere between one and two after about half way in. It was evident that it wasn't just Caleb that hadn't been sleeping well lately. With all that had been happening in the past week neither of them had much opportunity to sleep what anyone would call normal hours. Caleb was looking forward to the summer vacation when he thought everything would get back to normal. The only thing he would have to do was set up for university but that could be done on a normal sleep schedule. He looked at Isaiah almost not wanting to wake him up but knowing that if his either of his parents came in and saw them that it would be war. He gently moved his arm out from under Isaiah's head and touched his cheek for a second before Isaiah opened his eyes and stretched a little bit.

"Hey how'd you sleep?" whispered Caleb.

"Pretty good," Isaiah smiled at him before taking his hand, "How about you?"

"No complaints," Caleb smiled and leaned in kissing him on the cheek before sitting on the edge of the bed. "I think my parents are home, so I'm thinking we should go for a drive or something."

"Will they be mad that I'm here?" asked Isaiah gaining a confused look on his face.

"No but it'd be awkward probably." As Caleb spoke he realized that his words probably sounded selfish, he didn't want Isaiah to think that he was ashamed of him, "That's not what I meant." He looked back at Isaiah and smiled awkwardly then turned around again, he just wasn't ready to deal with coming to his parents with their relationship. "I'm just not..."

"I know," said Isaiah interrupting him. Caleb looked back and Isaiah was staring at him pretty intently giving him a comforting gaze. Caleb smiled before standing up off the bed, Isaiah moved awkwardly to sit on the edge of the bed clearly still in pain.

"How's it feeling? Any better?" Caleb walked over to the door taking his favourite vest off a nearby coat rack and looked back at Isaiah as he spoke.

"Um, it's a little better I guess, not by much," Isaiah got to his feet and stretched a little bit. "I just wish it would heal already."

"How long did the doctor say?" Caleb had guess that it wouldn't take too long for the wound to heal even though it was so deep. He had learned about how resilient the human body was from first-hand experience being a sports player his whole life.

"Like a month or so." As Isaiah finished talking Caleb could hear footsteps heading up the stairs, it sounded like his father, his mother was fairly light on her feet and Caesar wasn't as heavy on his feet as his father was. He could hear the footsteps come up the steps then down the hall and stop at his bedroom door before there was a stern knock at the door.

"Caleb, are you in there?" called Gordon. Caleb was surprised that he knocked at all typically his father didn't respect his privacy, because of this Caleb had gotten a keen sense of how to determine where people were in the house just by listening. Caleb opened the door.

"What's up Dad?" asked Caleb trying to make it seem like nothing was out of the ordinary. Gordon looked at Isaiah briefly before turning his attention back to Caleb.

"I didn't realize we had a guest," he said, "I just wanted to let you know that the principal called to let us know that the game was off for tomorrow. Did you know that?"

"Yeah, I actually suggested it, the coach got suspended because of what happened the other night, it's not making me very popular right now, but who cares about that right." Caleb smiled as he talked looking from his father to Isaiah then back again. Isaiah smiled shyly then looked down at the floor.

"I just wanted to make sure you knew so you weren't disappointed when you got to class tomorrow." Gordon looked at Caleb as he spoke then moved his gaze to Isaiah again. "Who is you're knew friend Caleb, I don't believe we've met?" Caleb had been hoping that his father would just deliver his message and leave so that they could avoid any awkwardness.

"Yeah this is my friend Isaiah, Dad. He's one of the guys on the team," explained Caleb trying to be brief. Isaiah looked up trying not to be rude and gave a welcoming smile.

"Hello," he greeted. To Caleb's surprise his father stepped in the room and extended his hand to Isaiah.

"Pleased to meet you Isaiah," Isaiah shook his hand, "My name is Gordon and as you can see I'm Caleb's father." Caleb thought for a few seconds that he might still be sleeping or that the man in his room wasn't his father.

"Nice to meet you," said Isaiah standing up.

"Alright, I've got a few quick questions for you Isaiah." Isaiah looked at Caleb then back to Gordon confused at what he might be getting ready to ask. "First one is, are you into drugs?"

"No sir." Isaiah laughed a little bit inside he had never done drugs before but to be asked so blatantly was something he found quite funny. Caleb was almost scared to hear what the next question was and swallowed hard at what might happen if his father didn't like Isaiah's answer.

"Good," he smiled at Isaiah then looked at Caleb as he slid his hands into his pants pockets, "Here the way he answered that, you could learn a few things from this boy Caleb, knows how to address his elders properly. He's already better than your friend Jonathan on two counts," Caleb smiled at his father and began to realize why he was asking the questions. "The second question is what do you want to do with your life?"

"I'm getting into school on scholarship to be a teacher."

"Sports scholarship?"

"Scholastic," said Isaiah proudly. He didn't look down on people who had scholarships based on their physical abilities but he felt that it was hard to get a scholastic scholarship over the latter.

"I can hear the pride in your voice when you say that Isaiah," Gordon smiled before looking back at Caleb, "Why haven't you brought him around before this? This is the type of person we want out son to be associated with. Not some of that other riff raff you've brought home." Caleb smiled knowing that if Gordon found out what Isaiah really was to him then he would have an entirely different choice of words to describe him.

"We just never really connected before last Friday I guess, I don't really know why," answered Caleb. Part of him was glad that all of this had happened so late in the year but he did regret the fact that neither of them had been able to demonstrate their feelings for each other before they did.

"Well what did you boys plan on doing for supper? Did you want to stay for supper Isaiah?" In all the years that Caleb and Jonathan had been friends, never once did Gordon offer him to stay for supper. Gordon looked at Isaiah waiting for him to answer and Isaiah looked over at Caleb not really sure what to answer but he didn't want to offend Caleb's father. Caleb wasn't giving any hints leaning one way or another.

"Sure I guess," said Isaiah trying not to sound unsure of himself.

"Good it should be ready in twenty minutes or so, we'll give you guys a shout." Gordon smiled and turned and walked out of the room. Caleb waited a few seconds before pushing the door shut, as the door latch clicked telling him it was shut he let out a sigh of relief.

"Man I thought he'd never leave."

"Sorry, I wasn't sure what to say when he asked me to stay for supper, I didn't want to offend him," Isaiah took a step over to Caleb, "If you want I can pretend my mom called and give us a reason to go home?"

"Nah it's okay, I'm kinda hungry now that I'm thinking about it. I'm just glad he likes you," explained Caleb.

"Is it really so hard to believe," laughed Isaiah.

"No you don't understand, he's never asked my friends to stay for dinner before, let alone complimented them." Caleb was extremely happy that his father liked Isaiah, it just meant that when the time came it would soften the blow of him being with a guy if they liked him in the first place. "I wanted to pass out." Caleb looked at Isaiah and wrapped his arms around him in an embrace. He held onto him tightly but was still sure not to hurt him. Caleb breathed in deeply taking in the smell of Isaiah's skin. "I love you so much," he whispered.

"I love you too." Isaiah pulled back getting Caleb to look at him and kissed him briefly. Isaiah reached up and touched Caleb's face just as his phone rang. "I bet that's my mother wondering why I wasn't on the bus." Isaiah reached into his pocket quickly and took out the phone bringing it up to his ear right away. "Hello?" Sure enough it was his mother on the other end and just as he thought she would be, she was almost in a state of panic.

"Where are you?" she asked sternly.

"I'm at Caleb's house mom," answered Isaiah. He could tell by her tone that she was upset with him for not calling her.

"And when were you going to call me and let me know about this Isaiah?" Isaiah could hear the concern in her voice and he could tell that she was trying not to let it shine through in the form of anger.

"Sorry I should of called, I know."

"I'm sorry for seeming strict Isaiah, but after what happened I need to know where you're at. I don't want anything more to happen to you."

"It's okay mom, I know your just concerned. But Caleb hasn't left my side all day if that makes any difference." Carla had to feel comforted knowing that Caleb was with him like a faithful sentry protecting him.

"It does, but please just call me when you're not going to be home from now on," Carla paused and Isaiah felt as though he should say something but wasn't sure what he should say, "Are you going to be home for supper?"

"Actually, Caleb's father asked me to stay for supper, if that's okay."

"Okay then, is Caleb going to bring you home later?" asked Carla. At this point it was clear that Carla was making small talk, she had to know the answer to her question already.

"Yes, mom. I'm not sure when though sometime later tonight through probably, I'll call you before we leave if you want?"

"That'll be alright, I'll see you when you get home dear."

"Okay talk to you later, Mom." Isaiah flipped his phone closed and put it back in his pocket.

"Is she okay?" asked Caleb only having been able to hear one side of the conversation.

"Yeah it's all good, she just wanted to know that I was okay. I let her think I forgot because I didn't want to tell her we skipped school all day."

"Ah, good idea." Caleb nodded and went over to his computer desk and sat down, "I hope they don't want us to sit down there and eat," he laughed. "I can only imagine what the dinner conversation is going to be like." Isaiah leaned against the door and smiled.

"Anything I should watch out for?"

"I don't know that's just it, it's been very few times that my friends and my family have mixed." Caleb could think of very few occasions where he sat at a table with his parents and his friends, mostly because they were gone at work all the time. For the most part his parents didn't like Sheena because of the drugs and the way she would spend his money. The nights events were going to be interesting to say the least but he had no idea how interesting, and that was what was scaring him. Isaiah walked over and started to massage his back lightly.

"Don't worry about it I'm sure we'll be okay."

Caleb and Isaiah sat with Caleb's family at the dinner table, they had just about finished eating and the conversation seemed to stick to mostly banter for most of the night. Isaiah wasn't used to eating with a family, he and Carla would eat together but it wasn't the same because it was just the two of them. He envied Caleb for having the option of doing this at least once in awhile, even though he understood why Caleb didn't seem to get along with his parents. The meal had been prepared by Caesar who sat with the family to eat but also served them at the same time. Isaiah didn't like the fact that Caleb's father had turned his brother into a servant of his family, it just seemed like they didn't really appreciate what he did for them. The fact that he was getting waited on while not at a restaurant was something that was hard for him to grasp anyway, he didn't like being made to feel like he was above someone for any reason. The dish Caesar had prepared was a Cuban style chicken dish that Gordon had claimed he would only make on a special occasion. It was something that Isaiah enjoyed, he had never had any type of authentic foreign dish before and it interested him. There had been the odd occasion where he had gotten sushi from the grocery store or his mother had brought home something that was Italian, Chinese but never something that had be prepared by someone whom could be called a chef native to that country. Caleb had pretty much kept his head in his plate for the entire meal, clearly nervous.

"Did you enjoy it Isaiah?" asked Barbara. Isaiah moved around some of the rice on his plate and scooped it up with his fork.

"It's really good," Isaiah nodded, "I was just thinking about how I've never had authentic foreign food before."

"Good, well, we're glad you're enjoying it." Barbara smiled and took a drink of the glass of water that sat by her plate. "So how're you feeling Caleb was telling us that you were involved in an unfortunate incident the other night." Caleb lifted his head from his plate and looked at Isaiah knowing that the question was going to stir some feelings. Gordon looked at Isaiah then at Carla and glanced back over to Isaiah.

"I didn't realize that you were the Isaiah that Caleb was speaking about the other night," said Gordon sounding sympathetic. Gordon went back to what was left to the food on his plate, seemingly unsure of what to say to him.

"Um, well I'm okay I guess, I'm kinda bruised up as you can see with what they did to my face. But that'll heal." Isaiah forced back the urge to cry as he thought about the wound on his chest that was going to scar him for the rest of his life. He decided that he wouldn't be any more specific with them than he had to.

"Well I'm glad you're okay, I can only imagine what your poor mother must have gone through with it." Barbara put a forkful of rice in her mouth and chewed staring intently at Isaiah as if waiting for an answer.

"Yeah she was pretty shaken up now, but with me hanging around with Caleb, her mind is at ease to say the least." Isaiah smiled at Caleb then looked back at his parents.

"I went to school with your mother. It's funny that the two of you weren't good friends before now," said Barbara. "But then, I don't imagine many other people could stand some of Caleb's other friends."

"Yeah Jonathan and I don't get along all that well to say the least."

"Why haven't you and Jonathan been hanging out lately Caleb?" asked Gordon, "The boy went from being here almost every night of the week to not coming around at all." Gordon looked at Caleb with a small amount of conviction in his gaze.

"I've been hanging around with Isaiah so Jonathan and I aren't getting along, I don't know that I'll ever really speak to him again," explained Caleb.

"Good riddance." It was slowly becoming clear that he wasn't the only person in Caleb's life that didn't like Jonathan.

"Gordon," Barbara scolded, "I know he's neither of our favourite person that Caleb hangs around. But I feel sorry for him," She looked at Isaiah, "Your mother and I went to school with his mother as well, and his step father. They're both alcoholics, they've got to be abusive. I think he used to be here so often because he hates being at home. His brother left home because of that so-called man they live with. I can only imagine how bad it must have been." Carla pointed at Caleb then to Isaiah, "I hope you two realize how lucky you are to have parents who care for you and provide for you."

"I do," said Isaiah plainly. He didn't feel he needed to be reminded by a parent that partially neglected her child for her job of what he had and didn't have for a relationship with his mother. Isaiah smiled at her and scooped up the last of the rice that was on his plate putting it in his mouth. Caleb stood up almost suddenly having finished his plate as well. He had been waiting since the last bit of conversation began for Isaiah to finish so they could get out of there and away from his parents.

"Let's go for a drive or something Isaiah, and get some air," he said picking up his plate.

"Aren't you guys going to stay for desert?" asked Barbara.

"We'll probably be back later, if that's okay." Isaiah couldn't believe how antsy Caleb got around his parents, he was almost a completely different person when he was around them. He was quiet, seemingly under confident and shy. Caleb took Isaiah's seat out from in front of him and stacked his on top of it before walking it over to the dishwasher under the cupboard.

"Alright well, it was nice having supper with you Isaiah, don't be scared to come back," said Barbara. Isaiah watched as Caesar, who had finished his meal some time ago, got up and start to clear the table.

"Thank you, I won't. Thank you for the meal Caesar." Caesar smiled and nodded at Isaiah as he took the remainder of the dinner plates to the dish washer. Caleb gave him a signal then headed for the door Isaiah followed closely behind him as they walked to the truck. Caleb grabbed his keys off the table and they walked outside. As Isaiah shut the door behind him he could hear Caleb let out a sigh of relief. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah I'm okay," Caleb paused as he opened the door to the truck then looked over at Isaiah, "now." Caleb got up in the truck and opened the passenger door for Isaiah. "Need a hand getting in?" he asked.

"No, I'm okay," said Isaiah grabbing the handle on the door and pulling himself up. "Where are we going anyway?" Isaiah looked at Caleb after pulling his door shut.

"I figured we'd go grab a coffee or something from the coffee shop," said Caleb starting the truck. "Sound good? I'm buying." Caleb looked at Isaiah for a second before starting to pull out of the yard.

"Okay, I haven't been in there in awhile." The coffee shop in town was a locally owned business that specialized in coffee's from around the world, that were often expensive, because they were authentic. It was something he very seldom had the money for and if he did there was something else he would rather have. He didn't really enjoy coffee all that much, but on occasion he would get a mug of Kenyan blend if he chose to stray from his usual green tea soy latte'. Isaiah looked out the window, the weather had gotten progressively gloomier as the day went on, it hadn't full on rained yet but it was in the forecast. The clouds were heavy and dark and there were drops of rain on the window of the truck when they had gotten in. Isaiah noticed as they drove that the drops hit the window but were still few and far between, considering they were driving. Isaiah glanced at Caleb who looked relatively happy as he drove, he loved Caleb's face and when he smiled it especially made him smile. He couldn't help but smile when he knew Caleb was smiling. Caleb glanced over at him then back to the road as he let out a nervous laugh.

"What are you smiling about?" he laughed already knowing the answer to his question.

"You," said Isaiah, "When you smile it makes me wanna smile." Isaiah could tell that Caleb felt a little bit awkward.

"Okay," he said, "Well that's a good thing right?"

"Yeah." They continued on toward their destination that wasn't all that far now. They were right down town and the coffee shop was right next to a pizzeria that was a popular hang-out for a lot of the teenagers in town when school was out. They pulled up to the pizzeria while Caleb waited to turn into the parking lot of the coffee shop and Isaiah could see Andrew and Mike hanging out with some others in front of the pizzeria. They immediately took notice of the truck, when Caleb pulled in to the parking lot he started toward a parking spot. "Don't you wanna go through the drive-through?" asked Isaiah not really wanting to deal with either of them right then. Caleb looked at him then looked at the line in the drive-through.

"Um, we can if you want to, I guess. I just thought it would be quicker to go in," explained Caleb. Isaiah wasn't comfortable being at this place with all the people around, but he also didn't want to argue with Caleb over something so trivial even if it did irritate him. As Caleb was looking at him Andrew walked up to his window and knocked on it. Caleb turned around and looked at him with a greeting smile before rolling down the window. "Hey dude's what's up?" he said. It wasn't long before Mike stepped into view.

"Not much dude, you tell us. Where ya been all day?" asked Mike looking in the window suspiciously at Isaiah.

"Oh we just took it easy all day. After what happened the other night he's not feeling all that great." Mike and Andrew were quiet for a moment as if unsure of what to say.

"Cool," said Andrew, "Did you hear about that party tonight? Gonna be pretty big, you should show up." It was obvious that Andrew was changing the subject to avoid a possible confrontation with them.

"I didn't hear anything about it, who's throwing it?" asked Caleb sounding as if he might really be interested in going. Isaiah sat hoping that he was only making conversation, there was no way he'd go to a party in the shape he was in, even if it was with Caleb.

"It's at Sheena's oh..." said Andrew trailing off as he realized the situation they were in.

"Yeah, I won't be going to that," Caleb laughed. A few seconds of awkward silence passed as everyone let the reality of the situation sunk in. "Well we were just going in to get some coffee and some sweets or something, so we will see you guys later." Caleb started to open the door and the guys took a step back. Isaiah let out a sigh of relief as he got out of the truck and shut the door.

"See you tomorrow C," called Mike. It was obvious that both of them were incredibly uncomfortable with Isaiah and Caleb being together all day. Caleb nodded in acknowledgment at Mike and Isaiah watched as the two of them walked away. Caleb and Isaiah started toward the coffee shop taking their time, Isaiah's discomfort with the situation had all but disappeared as he realized that he was safe with Caleb.

"Faggot," they heard a voice yell from behind them. Isaiah felt a ball in the pit of his stomach and had a sinking feeling come over him as Caleb whipped around and looked back. Isaiah slowly turned to face them. Andrew and Mike were still walking toward the crowd of people, Isaiah could tell it wasn't them anyway it wasn't either of their voices.

"Who said that!" yelled Caleb. The crowd of people were quiet except for one person, David Sanders one of the guys that would regularly hang out with the foot ball team guys, leeching off of their popularity.

"Caleb, what's up?" he said casually. He acted as though he didn't realize that Isaiah was walking with Caleb after having seen him get out of the truck with him. Caleb walked toward him quickly there was a noticeable irritation in his step.

"Was that you?" asked Caleb getting within arm's reach of him. Isaiah stood and watched as David looked like he was almost ready to turn and run as Caleb stopped in front of him.

"I wasn't talking to you man," he said nervously.

"Who were you talking to, then?" asked Caleb raising his voice a little and interrupting him. Isaiah could feel his palms getting sweaty part of him wanted Caleb to hit him, but the other part of him just wanted to wake up on Caleb's bed to realize this was all just a bad dream. He couldn't believe how bad this whole thing had escalated just since Tuesday.

"Man I didn't say anything." David changed his story clearly not expecting Caleb to react the way he had. Isaiah couldn't help but think of how stupid he was acting, he had to of known that lying now would only make the situation worse.

"I thought you weren't talking to me, you obviously said something," said Caleb. Isaiah could see Caleb's fist clenched from where he was standing.

"Dude why does it matter?" David's girlfriend walked over to him and put her arms around his waist deliberately putting herself between the two of them. "That guys a fag everyone knows it, that's why he got his ass kicked." Isaiah couldn't help but notice that David had gotten suddenly braver now that his girlfriend was between him and Caleb. Caleb looked at David's girlfriend then back to him.

"I don't think you know the first thing about that guy over there, he's a member of the football team that you pretty much worship every day. Even if he is what you say he is, it's none of your business. He's not trying to sleep with you so just piss off and stop hiding behind your bitch, you little bitch," said Caleb insulting, "Next time you yell something at someone make sure it's their name and that I'm not with them. I'll knock your head off your shoulders myself." David's face had gone almost white with fear as Caleb spoke, Caleb gave him one last glare before turning away and walking back to Isaiah. "Now," Caleb smiled at Isaiah, "Let's go get some coffee shall we?" Isaiah smiled back at Caleb and they walked into the shop together. As they stepped through the second door the smell of the brewed coffee hit Isaiah in the face, he enjoyed the smell of coffee often associating it with any number of sweets. They walked up to the counter still a couple steps back to look the menu over, the shop itself wasn't all that large but there were several tables throughout the small dining room. Any time that Isaiah had ventured through almost all the tables were full, the shop did fairly well for itself, mainly because they were the only coffee shop in town but also because everyone loved their sweets and coffee. "What do you want?" asked Caleb as he looked up at the menu. "Do you have a usual?"

"A soy green tea latte," said Isaiah choosing not to stray from his usual this time.

"Cool that sounds pretty good actually," said Caleb taking one last glance at the menu, "I think I'll try one of those too." The clerk at the counter turned her attention to Caleb as the person standing ahead of them moved out of the way.

"Your usual?" she asked happily.

"Ha, not today actually can we get two large green tea soy latte's please?" It seemed strange to Isaiah that wherever Caleb went people recognized him but it didn't surprise him that he was a regular here. It was already clear to Isaiah that Caleb was used to enjoying a lot of the finer things in life leaving him to wonder how Caleb would be able to cope when he was out on his own.

"Alright then," she said almost put off as she rung in the order, "Anything else with those?" Caleb looked back at Isaiah, who shook his head telling him he was fine with just the drink.

"No thanks," Caleb smiled and passed her his credit card.

"Alright, your total is eight dollars forty four cents, on credit." Isaiah watched as the cashier pushed several buttons on the computer telling it the order before taking Caleb's card and swiping it. "Two green tea latte's with soy please," she called back to the barista. The person in behind her went to work making the drinks as the cash register printed out a receipt that she passed to Caleb along with a pen. Caleb signed his name to the receipt and passed it to her. "Do you want your copy?"

"No that's good." As the computer printed off his receipt she crumpled it up and put it in the garbage. Caleb walked down to the drink pick up spot, Isaiah followed him all the while watching the people in back quickly make their drinks. "So this is good right?" Caleb smiled at Isaiah as he spoke.

"Yeah you should like it? Ever drank green tea before?"

"Yup, it's good for keeping water weight off."

"Then you'll be fine," laughed Isaiah.

"Two large green tea latte's," called the barista as he sat the drinks on the table for them, "Enjoy guys." The barista smiled at them before going back to make his next drink. Isaiah grabbed one of the sleeves to stop the drink from burning his hand and picked up the drink quickly sliding it on. He turned as Caleb picked his up to see Stephanie standing right behind them in line. He had hoped that this drink would be the best one he ever had because they were certainly going through a lot of hassle to get it. He was starting to think that someone told them they were going to be there. All he would need now was for Sheena and Jonathan to show up to make this whole ordeal. With Stephanie things would be especially awkward since she was the last person he talked to before he got attacked.

Stephanie had sat and watched as Caleb ordered for both himself and Isaiah, then watched him pay for them both. There was no doubt in her mind now, that what Sheena had said about them was true. During her time in the last year or so, her experience told her that guys only bought you stuff if they were sleeping with you or wanted to sleep with you, therefore what she was seeing made sense. She watched as Isaiah took his drink and as he turned to face her she saw a look of shock in his eyes, almost as if he had seen a ghost. Stephanie began to wonder if he had any idea that she was talking to him that day in the field to give the other guys on the team time to clear out and for Jonathan and the others the time they needed to get ready. She didn't want to appear guilty so she thought she had better say something quick. She still didn't feel like herself after what Jonathan had done to her, she hadn't been able to talk about it with anyone yet.

"Hi Isaiah," she smiled as she spoke putting on the front, "How're you feeling?" Isaiah hesitated and appeared to be thinking about his response.

"I'm alright I guess," he said staying brief. "How's your day going?"

"Oh I've been better I guess," Stephanie didn't want to reveal too much about her day so she kept her answers brief as well. "Where did you two disappear to all day?" Stephanie had recalled Katelyn talking about them leaving together and wanted to see if she could get more information out of them for Sheena.

"We just hung out for the day really. Neither one of us really felt like hanging around today. Caleb didn't want to deal with the team after getting the game cancelled," explained Isaiah.

"Yeah I heard that everyone was pretty ticked off," said Stephanie. Caleb turned around and faced Stephanie after putting his wallet back together. He gave her a small nod in acknowledgement and smiled before turning his attention to Isaiah.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked. Caleb had never taken Stephanie seriously and she knew it. She almost found him irresistible and had even tried to get with him a couple of different times when they were drunk and Sheena had gotten into a fight with him, but he always seemed to fight off her advances. It was something that had always bothered her, but now she understood why he always turned her away. It seemed to her like all this time Sheena was just a cover up for his real feelings.

"Yeah if you are," Isaiah answered.

"Did you hear the rumour that's floating around about you?" Stephanie blurted out wanting to make them uncomfortable for trying to ignore her. Caleb and Isaiah both stopped and looked at her. "People are saying you're a fag." Isaiah rolled his eyes at her.

"I thought you were going to tell me something new."

"Not you," Stephanie looked at Caleb and held back a sinister smile as she spoke, "You." A look of worry came over Caleb's face as he looked from Isaiah to her.

"Who told you that?" he asked almost sheepishly. Stephanie could hear that his usual self confidence was gone.

"It's just floating around, I'm not sure where it started." Stephanie sat waiting for some kind of worried overreaction, but she didn't get it. Caleb let out a sigh and took a sip of his drink glancing at it strangely as if surprised by the taste before focusing back to her.

"I don't even care anymore." Caleb turned away from her giving Isaiah a look telling him silently to follow before the two of them just walked away from her. Isaiah glanced back at her again as they walked through the door exiting the coffee shop. Any doubt she had previously, disappeared, Sheena was right about them.

Caleb and Isaiah walked out of the coffee shop in silence and got into the truck. Caleb started it and quickly pulled out of the small parking lot. Isaiah could tell that what Stephanie had said was bothering him but he didn't know what to say to be able to comfort him. Their entire world was about to change, some ways for the better, but for some ways for the bad at least from the viewpoint of a regular high school student. Isaiah watched the passing scenery and could tell that they weren't going back to either of their houses but wasn't sure of where they were going. Caleb appeared to be in deep thought.

"Do you like it?" asked Isaiah wanting to change the subject of thought.

"Huh?" Caleb looked at him then back to the road and Isaiah could see his olive skin was tinted red, Isaiah wasn't sure if he was angry or upset. Isaiah pretended not to notice and took a sip of his drink.

"Do you like your drink?" he asked again.

"Oh, yeah it's good." Caleb held up the drink and took a sip from it putting it back into the cup holder and continuing with his attention on the road. "Little hot right off though." Caleb was clearly distraught it almost seemed like he had lost his sense of security in himself. Isaiah could see Caleb's eyes shifting from him to the road and could tell he wanted him to talk about what Stephanie had said.

"Are you alright?" Isaiah thought it best for Caleb to just forget about what had happened if only for now, but he asked the question anyway.

"Not really," Caleb spoke quietly as if recalling everything she had said. "I said I didn't care, I just didn't want to give that dumb the satisfaction she was looking for." They pulled up to a stop sign and Isaiah could see Caleb clench the wheel as hard as he could as he put his head against the headrest partially looking up. Isaiah could see that Caleb was crying as the tears started to flow down his face like a river. "This is so screwed up." Caleb sniffled and Isaiah could tell that everything was starting to get to him. Caleb looked over at him seeming lost in a trap of emotions and high school. "I don't know what's gonna happen now." Caleb took his hands off the wheel wiped his eyes. A car had stopped behind them at the stop sign and blew their horn at them. "Go around!" Caleb put his hand out the window and waved them by him. Isaiah reached out and took Caleb's other hand. Caleb wiped at the tears with his arm.

"I know you know this, but whatever happens we're going to go through it together." The car behind them had honked their horn again having ignored Caleb's previous signal to go around them. "Come on we have to go, Caleb." Isaiah urged wanting to avoid any possible conflict. Caleb put his free hand on the wheel and started to drive. "Where were you going anyway?"

"Honestly I wanted to go to the field for awhile and just kinda enjoy the quiet." Isaiah smiled at him, it was weird but he had never pictured Caleb as the type to sit and just enjoy the quiet, but it seemed to be something they did frequently together.

"Sounds good to me."

They drove for about ten minutes and arrived at their destination. What Stephanie said was still on his mind but the second Isaiah touched his hand none of it seemed to be all that bad. The only thing that bothered him was that after everything he had gone through defending his team-mates to Sheena for the last three years, they had seemingly completely sided with her. He just didn't get how they could betray him so easily. They were literally only a few days from being done with high school and it was nothing how he pictured it, he thought that as the days went by he should be feeling less stress not more. Caleb shook his head and put it out of his mind as he shut the truck off, not wanting his worries to worry Isaiah. Caleb looked outside, the field was quiet and everything was still. There were patches of clouds in the sky but he could still see the blue as it got darker. It usually didn't get noticeably dark until around eight but the sun was behind a deep dark cloud giving everything a gloomy feel to it, small rain drops were still falling on the windshield. Caleb looked at the clock on the radio it was already quarter to seven and he couldn't help but wonder where the last two hours went.

"Are you okay?" asked Isaiah probably wondering why Caleb was so quiet. Caleb looked at him and smiled.

"Yeah, actually. I'm fine now." Caleb picked up his drink and took a sip holding onto it for a few seconds. "This is really good, I'm surprised. When you said soy I wasn't sure what to expect." Isaiah smiled and took a sip of his own.

"I think that's a general reaction when you haven't tried it before."

"How's your stomach feeling?" asked Caleb.

"Still hurts, but I think I'm adapting to the feeling or something, it's not as bad as it was." Caleb undid his seatbelt and moved over to Isaiah and leaned in to a kiss. He put his hand on Isaiah's side as they kissed for several seconds. Caleb wanted to pretend just for a little bit that the only thing in the world was the two of them and nothing else existed. His eyes closed he could feel Isaiah move to put his drink down then put his hands on Caleb's face. He loved the way Isaiah touched him and the feeling of safety that it brought him. Isaiah pulled back briefly and Caleb started to kiss his neck. "I love you, Caleb." Caleb stopped what he was doing and looked Isaiah in the eye.

"I love you too," he said smiling. Caleb kissed him again, the touch of Isaiah's lips was exciting him but he knew he had to control himself, as right now there was nothing either of them could do about it given Isaiah's condition. Caleb was satisfied just being in his arms and being able to touch him, the rest didn't matter.

It was almost eight o clock and Sheena and Chris had just got done with what he referred to as a sexual encounter, he had gotten up to go to the bathroom. She was disappointed with his performance as he had climaxed and left her hanging, something she never let Caleb get away with. Her mother and father had gone out for a night in the city celebrating him getting home from a long work trip so they had the house to do what they pleased. Sheena had gotten dressed and was waiting for Chris to walk in, people were probably going to start showing up soon and she wanted to be ready. She couldn't help but feel a sense of self satisfaction, she was going to tell everyone at the party tonight about Caleb and Isaiah. To celebrate she had gotten what she considered to be a special treat for herself and the others if they chose to participate. It had been a while since she had gotten it, since Caleb would never let her do it.

"So are we drinking tonight then?" asked Chris as he walked in the room in his underwear, grabbing for his pants. Sheena watched as he pulled up his pants admiring his body for a few minutes, he was more slender then Caleb was but still in great shape by most people's standards, she smiled at him.

"Yeah of course we are, I have something else for us too." Sheena stood up and went to her armoire and looked herself over in the mirror fixing her hair. "When did the guys say they'd be here?" Chris put his shirt on then looked at his watch looking slightly confused.

"They should be here by now, said they were gonna be anyway," he said, "Probably any minute now." Chris watched her as she fixed her hair. "You look awesome by the way." Sheena looked at him out of the corner of her eye, she had never been told that she looked awesome and she could think of a few better words to describe herself then awesome.

"Thanks," she smiled at him and the door bell rang twice. "Can you go get that?" Chris did up his belt then walked out of the room, Sheena listened as he walked downstairs and opened the door. She couldn't make out the words but she knew she was hearing Stephanie. Stephanie came right upstairs and into the bedroom with an urgent look on her face, Chris followed shortly behind her.

"You're so totally right about Caleb and Isaiah," she said sitting on the bed, "I saw them at the coffee shop after I left here earlier. They both got the same thing and Caleb bought." Sheena was extremely annoyed with Stephanie she could be so stupid at times. She knew she was right but what Stephanie saw was hardly proof.

"How does that prove anything?" asked Chris, "Caleb's family is loaded and Isaiah's not of course he's gonna buy, he used to buy for Jonathan too." Stephanie looked back at Chris knowing that he was implying she was stupid.

"I told him that there is a rumour floating around about him being gay."

"What?" said Sheena cutting her off, "I don't want it spread around yet Stephanie, I wanted to crush him myself."

"I didn't say who said it, but he didn't deny it, he just said he didn't care anymore and walked away. He almost seemed broken." Sheena was starting to see what Stephanie was getting at now, it seemed as though Caleb was starting to lose the self confidence he was famous for.

Roughly an hour had passed and Sheena had the time to contemplate what Stephanie had told her, the guys had shown up and they were in the midst of having their private party. Some other people had come by after hearing about the party presumably from Mike and Andrew but Sheena had told them to get lost. She had no intention of having people at her house that she didn't really know. One of the things that always bothered her about Caleb's parties was the fact that he would let just anyone come as long as they went along with the rules. Mike and Andrew had shown up but Katelyn hadn't shown up yet. Sheena was beginning to question whether or not she was still trustworthy with all the doubt and disgust she had shown at what they did. Sheena wasn't sure what she was going to do if Katelyn told anyone but it likely wouldn't be pretty. In the ten years in their friendship they had never really had a fight about anything, they had the occasional disagreement, but this was more than that. Sheena could tell that the whole situation was really bothering her. Thinking about what they did to Isaiah didn't make her feel good, it was the thought of hitting Caleb where she knew it hurt that gave her the feeling of self satisfaction. She couldn't help but think that if Caleb had of just broken it off with her and then all this with Isaiah happened she wouldn't have cared one way or another. But there was no way she was going to let anyone get away with cheating on her regardless of what she had to do to prove the point or who got hurt in the process. Sheena had thought enough about everything to the point she was starting to bring herself down. Now was a good time to bring out her treat. Sheena dug into her drawer where she stored her marijuana and pulled out the bag of marijuana and the small baggy filled with the white powder that she enjoyed so much.

She wasn't addicted to cocaine she considered herself above that but when she could do it and not get caught she did. She sat it on the bed and the others who were immersed in their own, what she considered to be meaningless, conversation stopped and looked at the bag sitting on the bed.

"What's that?" asked Andrew seemingly nervous.

"Is that what I think it is?" asked Mike. Sheena was surprised by their apprehension she was sure that they would have been into the heavier drugs.

"It's cocaine. Who else wants some?" Sheena grabbed the baggie and walked over to her dresser. "I figured I'd treat us to something special."

"Where did you get it?" asked Chris.

"My dealer cut me a deal for being a loyal customer," Sheena wasn't getting the response she had hoped for in regards to using the drug. "So are you guys in or out?"

"I'm in," said Stephanie walking over to the desk. Andrew and Mike looked at each other reluctantly, each of them seemingly waiting for the other to make the decision. Without saying anything the two of them looked to Chris.

"I'll do a line or two, I guess," said Chris smiling at her.

"I don't think we can do that," said Mike, "If we get caught with that in our systems then it's bye bye football opportunities." Sheena almost seemed to ignore them as she started lining out the cocaine on the top of the dresser.

"Not to mention our parents wouldn't let us see the light of day again," said Andrew, "We'll stick to the pot and alcohol thanks." Sheena let out a sigh of frustration and walked to her drawer, she took out the bag of her pot and threw it on the bed.

"There you go." Sheena had set up three lines of the cocaine one for each of them, she wouldn't need very much to get the feeling she was looking for and since it was Chris's first time she knew he wouldn't either. Usually Stephanie wouldn't use to much either, she was sure it was just enough so that she could impress Sheena. "Who wants to go first?" she asked looking at each of them with a smile on her face.

"Show me how," said Chris, "I've never done this before."

"I'll go first," said Stephanie. Sheena watched as Stephanie plugged one side of her nose and kneeled over the dresser. She could hear a snorting sound as Stephanie followed the first line snuffing it up her nose. Stephanie stood back up straight and tilted her head backwards still sniffling making sure to get the remainder. "That stuff is better than the last batch you go us, stronger." Sheena smiled at Stephanie's reaction while Andrew and Mike sat watching seemingly almost in disgust.

"Good I'll go next," she said. With that Sheena bent over the lines and snorted a line then tilted her head back tapping her nose trying to numb the slight burning feeling that it left behind. "You're next baby." Chris looked down at the cocaine then looked at Sheena and smiled. "Don't tell me your getting cold feet."

"Chris man, are you sure about that stuff? If they happen to do a random drug test or something anytime soon you're screwed." Andrew's expressed concern just annoyed Sheena, she felt as though everyone should make their own decisions regardless of what your friends said. She let out a small laugh.

"Don't be a pussy," she laughed. Chris looked at her with a serious expression on his face before kneeling down and snorting up the last line Sheena had set up and came back up.

"I don't even feel anything, it just burns a little bit."

"Just wait a few minutes it doesn't hit you right away always," explained Stephanie.

"So do we do more now or what?" asked Chris seeming almost urgent.

"Oh lord no," laughed Sheena, "every forty five minutes or so we'll do a line. In the mean time let's pour a glass or two. And let's get the hell out of my bedroom, my parents aren't going to be home tonight." Sheena picked up the bag of weed and the remainder of the cocaine and walked out of her room and downstairs. They others followed her and she walked into the kitchen and over to the fridge where her parents kept their alcohol. She opened it up and grabbed a couple of coolers for her and Stephanie then sat at the table. "You guys can get your own there is some harder stuff in the bottom of the fridge." Mike walked over to the fridge and opened the door Sheena watched as he pulled out the bottle of white wine her mother always kept in the house.

"Nice," said Chris taking the bottle. "I'll get the glasses." Chris opened up the cupboard and pulled down three glass mugs. Sheena laughed to herself quietly at the thought of drinking white wine from a mug, but also considered the fact that they were football players so they would probably object to the proper glass. "Here we go boys." Chris poured the wine into each glass and passed them to the others.

"Thanks dude," said Andrew. Andrew took a swig from the glass and made a strange face. "Man that tastes like crap." Chris and Mike laughed at Andrew's face then took a drink themselves.

"Yeah it does, but gets the job done," said Mike making a similar face. It had been about ten minutes since they had done the first line and the feeling Sheena had been waiting for suddenly washed over her, she looked at Stephanie and it was clearly happening to her as well. The euphoric full body feeling hit and it almost felt like she was floating in her chair. Shortly she began to feel the drip in the back of her throat that was the cocaine making its way through. It tasted terrible the first time she had done the drug this same taste was enough to make her throw up for several minutes, but every time she did it, the sensation became easier to handle. Now as the time slowly passed the feeling of euphoria just became stronger, coupled with the alcohol and marijuana Sheena was in for an interesting night to say the least. "What are you waiting for, Sheena, roll us a joint."

"You roll it," Sheena giggled throwing the baggie at him. Chris suddenly gained a look of discomfort Sheena could only assume that he was getting the same feeling she got her first time doing it.

"Man you alright?" asked Andrew.

"Yeah, I think the stuff just hit me, but man what's that taste?" he said making a weird face.

"That's the coke dripping in the back of your throat," said Stephanie taking a drink of her cooler. "Just drink something that should get rid of it."

"Man that's nasty, I think I'm gonna puke." Chris made a mad dash to the downstairs bathroom that was just off the hallway connecting the kitchen to the living room. They could hear him as he rushed in and shut the door behind him, as he started to throw up, Sheena hoped, in the toilet.

"He'll be alright, that's a pretty standard reaction to your first time snorting." Mike sat down at the table and started to roll the joint. "So yeah, I didn't tell you guys yet did I?" said Sheena, knowing the answer.

"Tell us what?" asked Mike looking up from what he was doing.

"When I said that I saw Isaiah kissing a guy at the party," Mike stopped what he was doing and looked up at her waiting for her to finish, "Well it wasn't at the party."

"What do you mean?" asked Andrew taking a seat next to Mike, "You did see Isaiah kiss a guy right, we didn't just go do that to an innocent person did we?"

"Let me finish, it wasn't at the party it was the next day, and it was Caleb." Sheena sat smiling in wait of their reactions.

"What the hell man?!" said Andrew clearly shocked.

"As much as it would explain why they've been hanging out so much lately, it's still a little hard to believe," said Mike doubting.

"Well how do you think I felt when I saw my boyfriend of three years kissing some guy? I'm going to tell everyone tomorrow, I don't care anymore the seal is off, they can both go die in a fire somewhere for all I care."

"You know we did see the two of them at the coffee shop today," said Andrew.

"Yeah and Caleb pretty much admitted to me that they are together," said Stephanie getting the story somewhat twisted. Mike looked at Stephanie then back to Sheena.

"That sucks man, I'm glad this happened at the end of the season if the other teams found out we had two fags on our team, we'd be laughed off the field."

Jonathan sat in his basement laying on his bed as his mom and step dad were upstairs screaming at each other. Derek had come home late from work again and Helen was suspicious of him, she accused him of cheating on her at least once a month for the last year or not, after he had come home apparently smelling of another women's perfume. Jonathan didn't understand why they stayed together Derek treated him like garbage for the most part and now she suspected him of cheating. But she still would always choose Derek over Jonathan. "You stupid bitch!" Jonathan heard Derek yell at his mother. Jonathan got frustrated when Derek abused his mom like this so he usually would go to Caleb's and wait it out, but now that wasn't an option. Jonathan was slowly realizing that he had no real friends other then Caleb all of the guys on the team were choosing to go hang out with Sheena instead of him just because Chris was dating her. Up until this whole ordeal had began they hated her with every fibre of their being all because of how she treated Caleb. "The stupidest thing I ever did was get with you, you good for nothing dirt bag!" Jonathan heard Helen screaming what he was sure was as loud as he could. Jonathan covered his face with the pillow with hopes of drowning out some of the screaming match but it didn't seem to be working. Jonathan sat up and reached for his stash of marijuana, he had already rolled a few joints earlier in the night just so he would have them. He pulled the lighter from his pocket put the joint in his mouth and lit it, breathing it in. He took it in and held it for a few long seconds letting the drug do its job. There was suddenly a loud slam and his mother screamed for him.

"Jonathan!" she screamed sounding desperate. Jonathan had no idea what to expect he threw the joint in the ashtray and ran out of his room and up stairs.

"Mom!" he called out. He went upstairs to find nothing in the kitchen then walked into the living room to see Derek standing over his mother who was cowering on the floor shielding her face. "Hey! Get the hell away from her!" Derek turned just as Jonathan rushed him, Derek had never hit his mother before but he wasn't going to let him get away with it. Jonathan rammed Derek into a nearby glass cabinet and punched him in the side winding him. Derek fell the ground and kneeled over gasping for air, Jonathan turned back to his mother who was getting up off the ground. "Mom, are you okay?" he asked concerned, "What did he do to you?" Helen got up off the ground and Jonathan looked at her. Her face was streaked with tears and she was cradling her shoulder.

"He grabbed me and threw me down, thank you," said Helen.

"You ... son of ... a ... bitch," Derek struggled to say as he tried to catch his breath. "Get the ... hell ... out of ... my house." Derek slowly got on one knee. Jonathan looked at Derek then back to his mother.

"Listen old man, you're not in any position to be putting anyone out of the house. Shut up before I hit you again, next time it'll be harder." Jonathan felt himself losing control as he spoke. "If you ever, ever hit my mother again, I'll hit you so hard you'll be shittin out teeth for a month." Helen reached out and touched his arm then pulled him into a hug. "Come on mom, let's go to grandmas for the night, leave this sack of shit to rot for a while." Helen let go of him and started to walk out of the room. Jonathan moved to follow her when Derek knocked him onto the ground and started hitting him. Jonathan was the type of person who could certainly hold his own in a physical confrontation but not when he was taken from behind. He tried his best to turn around and get Derek off of him but he couldn't, he turned his head and took a right hook to the face twice once getting him in the eye the next in the lip.

"Derek leave him alone!" Helen yelled. Helen tried to push him off of Jonathan but wasn't really strong enough to do anything. She was a very small women and lived off of a disability pension for problems with her back. However it was enough to catch Derek off guard and give Jonathan a chance to throw him off of him. Jonathan stood up and turned to face Derek who was getting to his feet. As he got to his feet Jonathan drew back and sucker punched Derek in the face as hard as he could knocking him to the ground. Jonathan looked at him waiting for him to get up, but he didn't move, he had knocked him out. "Let's just go!" said Helen. Jonathan was going to debate he could tell that Derek was still breathing and he did warn him. The two of them left the house quickly and got into the car. Jonathan sat in the driver's seat and looked at his face in the mirror, he would have a black eye tomorrow and his lip was cut open.

"Are you alright?" asked Helen as he started to pull out.

"Yeah I'll be okay," answered Jonathan. This was the second time he could remember a fight between them getting this bad, the last time was just before his brother left for out west. Jonathan's brother wasn't as athletic as he was but the same altercation took place the only difference is that Derek had never hit their mother before. When it happened before Jonathan was only eleven and not able to stick up for her. "Has he ever hit you before today?"

"Only once," Helen reached into her purse she had grabbed on the way out for a cigarette and lit it, "and he apologized and said he would never do it again. That was back when we first got together." Jonathan assumed he had been out somewhere when this had happened because he didn't remember it. Jonathan fought for a second he didn't understand how someone could stay with someone else who made them miserable.

"Why do you stay with him, you don't trust him and he treats both of us like garbage?" Jonathan paused not sure if he should say what he had to say right now but decided not to stop, "He's the reason that Luke left, you know?" Helen flicked her cigarette out the window and looked at him with an astounded look on her face. Her reaction told Jonathan that now was not a good time but it was already too late for that he could see the anger building in her delicate features as he drove and glanced from her to the road.

"So are you saying it's my fault your brother left?" Jonathan knew that his mother had a complex about the men in her life leaving because of her. First his father left them when he was very young and then when his brother left it just strengthened her feelings about the situation.

"No mom, that's not what I'm saying," explained Jonathan, "I said he left because of that idiot not you. Why do you always have to twist my words around?"

"Well if it's Derek's fault then you're saying it is my fault, because I chose to remain with Derek." Jonathan could tell that his mother was just looking for someone to take out her frustration on and he didn't feel like being the one for it after what he had just gone through for her. "Why don't you go spend the night at Caleb's house tonight?" she asked. Jonathan looked at his mother shocked that she would ask him to go somewhere else after what they had just been through.

"Caleb and I aren't speaking right now," he said not wanting to go into detail.

"What you finally fucked up the one thing in your life that was stable?"

"Whatever, mom." Jonathan was starting to get angry, like always he would do for his mother and she would selfishly disregard it just because she wanted to make herself feel better.

"Don't you whatever me, Jonathan," she paused staring at him with an angry gaze, "Why don't you pull over and let me drive, I don't want you to go to your grandmother's place."

"Where the hell am I supposed to go?"

"Quite frankly Jonathan I don't care about that right now, I'll drop you downtown you can go and stay with your friends for the night." Jonathan let out a sigh and pulled the car over and got out of the vehicle leaving the door hanging open. His mother got out of the passenger side and walked around the front of the car.

"You know what mom, next time he's beating the shit out of you, don't call me to come save you, because I'm not going to be there." Jonathan slammed the car door and started walking down the street.

"That's it you ungrateful bastard, walk away just like your father did!" Jonathan couldn't help but think that his mother wasn't making any sense, she was probably drinking, but the sad thing was that she didn't have to be drunk to talk like that to him. "Did you hear me?! You're just like your father!" Helen screamed at him again as he walked with his back to her not bothering to look back. Jonathan could see that she was getting the attention of the neighbourhood, noticing that one older gentlemen was looking out his window at her as she screamed then looked at him. He could hear her get into the car and shut the door, she pressed down on the gas spinning the tires and kicking up rocks and dirt as the car took off. She knew how much it bothered him to be told he was like his father so it was what she went for every time they had a big argument. Jonathan kept walking trying to think of what he was going to do for the night he had left his cell phone and all of his stuff at his house and didn't dare go back for fear of finding that Derek had either woken up and called the police or that he was dead. In this situation normally Jonathan would just show up at Caleb's house and stay there for the night but that was no longer an option. Jonathan stopped walking for a second then looked behind him up the road, the car was long out of site by now, but he could still see the older gentlemen standing in his doorway looking at him. Jonathan tried not to make eye contact with him and turned to start walking again, as he did he could hear presumably the man's door opening.

"Hey are you alright?" the man called to him. Jonathan stopped in his tracks without turning around trying to make the decision to turn around and accept the stranger's help or to keep walking and ignore the offer. Jonathan looked back at the man not sure what to say but he knew he had look distraught, he could feel the blood rushing to his face as the argument had progressed. "You don't look so good."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Jonathan put his hands in his pockets and looked down at the ground.

"Well do you want to come in and talk for a bit? What's your name son?" Jonathan looked up at the man standing in his doorway across the street and started to walk toward him.

"Um, my name's Jonathan." Jonathan had never had this type of experience with someone before and wasn't really sure how to approach it. All he knew was that he really wanted to talk to someone, the pressure from the last week was building up and he hadn't had anyone to let it out on. The previous method he had tried to get his frustration out hadn't worked and he knew that the marijuana was just hiding it for a little while. He got up to the man's doorstep and the man took a step in his house.

"Well come on in Jonathan, my name is Mason, pleased to meet you," said the man introducing himself. "Come on in, make yourself at home." Jonathan walked in and let the door close behind him, Mason took a few steps in and sat on a nearby chair. "Now mind letting me know what all the noise was about just now." Jonathan wasn't sure if the man was being genuinely nice or if he was just being nosey. But in any case, he wanted to talk and Masons true intentions would be revealed soon enough.

"Well ..." Jonathan hesitated he had never opened up to anyone before, he and Caleb would never talk about anything but hanging out with Caleb was a way for him to forget what was going on at home, "my mother got into a fight with my step father." Mason's face turned to an expression of confusion.

"Then why would she be yelling you like that?"

"You've got me man, she just goes crazy every now and then I guess. He hit her today so ..." Jonathan paused not really sure if it was safe for him to tell a stranger the entire story. "I kind of ... knocked him out." Jonathan put his head down nervously wondering if Mason was going to call the cops.

"Looks like he got a couple of good swings in on you before-hand, eh?"

"Yeah that was when he jumped on me." Jonathan started to feel more relaxed about talking to this person it seem as though he was going to cast any judgement on him for anything. "My brother left because of this idiot and she somehow took me saying that as me blaming her for him leaving."

"Take your shoes off and stay awhile son," Mason stood up and walked to the kitchen, "Can I get you a drink of water? Maybe an ice pack for that eye?" Jonathan touched his eye and felt the sting, he could tell that it was already starting swell.

"Yeah just the ice would be good I think." Mason shortly returned with an ice pack wrapped in cloth and passed it to Jonathan. Jonathan took off his shoes and sat on the small chair and pressed the ice pack gently against his face. "Thanks." Jonathan sat there with his elbows on his knees looking down with the ice pack held to his face and his other hand hanging between his legs. He was starting to feel something he hadn't felt in probably years, he could feel his emotions coming to rear their ugly head as the eye he didn't have covered started to tear up. Jonathan tried to hide his face but his body was starting to feel shaky from the left over adrenaline after dealing with step father and mother and he couldn't raise his other hand. "Man, I should go." Jonathan was fighting back the tears as hard as he could but they kept falling it had been almost seven years since he had cried in front of anyone. Jonathan slowly stood up to leave when Mason stood up with him, concern showing in his face.

"It's okay, son." Mason suddenly grabbed him and pulled Jonathan into a hug and he took to crying, unable to hold it back anymore. Jonathan stood there in this strangers arms crying and trying to stop for the first few seconds, as he realized it wasn't going to stop he let it flow from himself, feeling like an idiot but at the same time relieving some of the stress he had been under.

"It's not fucking fair, man," he cried, "He beats her ass and I defend her then she screams at me and says I'm like my father, just because she knows how much it hurts me to hear it. I hate my father!" Jonathan felt Mason put one hand on his head and hold him against his chest, the ice pack had long fallen to the ground. Jonathan felt better knowing that someone was there listening to him, his touch was comforting. He had never known a man that brought him comfort before through touch, he had never had a positive male influence in his life aside from Caleb.

"It's okay let it out, all of this is just between you and I." Jonathan couldn't help but feel like he was imposing on this stranger, he was still unsure as to why he was showing him such kindness.

"I'm sorry, I..." Jonathan pulled out of the hug and looked down at the ground, "I should go. I don't deserve your help."

"And why's that?" asked Mason puzzled.

"I'm not a nice person, okay?"

"I'm afraid that's not enough of a reason for me not to help you. Why do you say that?" Mason reached out and wiped away a tear from Jonathan's face.

"Because it's true. I beat people up, I do drugs . . ." Jonathan stopped himself mid sentence not wanting to reveal anymore about himself. Mason kept a look of understanding as Jonathan spoke still no seemingly passing any judgement.

"Well, that's the Jonathan out there maybe, but that's definitely not the young man I see standing in front of me right now. As long as you're willing to leave that person out there, I'll welcome you into my house," explained Mason. Jonathan let out a sigh of relief as he thought over Mason's words as he spoke them.

"Okay," he whispered.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow?" asked Caleb leaning over and kissing Isaiah. Isaiah kissed him back and smiled before getting out of the truck, he stood there for a second with the door ajar as if thinking for a response to Caleb's question.

"Okay, what time?"

"Well, the usual no need to rush in." Isaiah nodded and shut the door Caleb watched him as he walked across the front of the truck. Smiling at him, Caleb rolled down his window. "I love you." Isaiah stopped in his tracks and turned around making eye contact.

"I love you too." Caleb watched as Isaiah disappeared for the night into his house before starting to pull out of the yard to continue on his way home. He couldn't believe how quickly time seemed to pass when they were together, one minute they had pulled into the field where they had sat talking, seemingly the next the day had passed and he was dropping him home. Caleb wanted for Isaiah to stay with him for the night but his mother wanted him home to care for his wound. Caleb drove down the street taking the long way home, he didn't really feel like going back to what he knew would be an empty house, so he took his time getting there. He took a turn down the street Jonathan lived on just for the sake of it, as he passed his house it looked like no one was home. Caleb thought about Jonathan for a moment, a part of Caleb missed him, they had had some fun memories together but Jonathan's attitude toward Isaiah and them being together was something that would be difficult to deal with. Caleb found himself wondering if they would ever be friends again, if Jonathan would ever see passed his hatred, the answer was something that only time would be able to reveal.

The clock on the dashboard was reading eleven o clock and Caleb didn't want to spend another night with no sleep, the naps just weren't enough to keep going on. As he drove and the street lights flashed passed him he started to reflect on the week's events and started to think how he couldn't wait for the next week to be done, so he and Isaiah could take the summer and do something without having to worry about the repercussions of being seen together. It wasn't long before Caleb pulled into his driveway not bothering to put the truck in the garage he got out and pushed the button on his key chain to lock it up, the lights flashed twice telling him he was good to go. He looked around noticing that his parent's cars were in the yard but the house was dark, it was rare for them to be home so early and even more rare for them to be in bed. They would probably be up early to catch their plane and be gone for the weekend. It was likely that they would be up and gone without him even realizing it. When he was younger his mother would wake him to tell him they were leaving and to kiss him goodbye but she stopped when he turned fourteen. He walked up to the door, well lit by the door light, when the silence was broken by his cell phone. Instinctive he pulled it out of his pocket and hit talk without even checking to see who it was putting it to his ear. For a second all he could hear was laughter and really loud music, when it suddenly got quiet.

"Hello?" he said quickly realizing that it wasn't Isaiah who was calling him.

"Hi," said Sheena from the other end. Caleb could hear her curt attitude shining through in her voice.

"What's up?" Caleb was careful not to let any of his discontent for her shine through in his voice. He could only assume that her call would mean bad news for him in one way or another.

"Well, I've just decided that I am going to break my silence as of tonight." Sheena paused and waited for his reaction but he stayed silent getting a sinking feeling in his stomach. "You don't deserve me keeping this quiet. I just wanted to let you know." Caleb thought for a minute not really sure how he should react. Truth was she hadn't really kept anything quiet up to this point she just hadn't used his name.

"Um, okay. What changed?" Caleb could hear some rustling on the other end as someone else took the phone from her.

"Hey Caleb, buddy. What's kickin'?" Caleb wasn't sure if the fact that she had moved on was causing her to act this way or if she was being spiteful as usual. "Sucks to know you're a fruit, when did that happen?" There was more rustling as Sheena took the phone from Chris. Caleb stayed silent choosing not react to the comments Chris was making he was angry but he didn't want them to see it.

"Yeah, so I'm not going to hold back anymore, I'm going to tell the truth. There's an assembly in the morning in the AV room for some idiot to talk about violence in the school. I'm going to tell everyone then so they know why we broke up." Sheena's tone reminded him of the way she used to talk to him and the way she would threaten him with one thing or another and he wasn't going to stand for it.

"Sheena, I won't let you do it." Caleb wasn't about to let Sheena have control of the situation again. They weren't even together anymore there was no way he would yield to her again.

"You don't have a choice!" Sheena started laughing and Caleb hung up on her.

"Bitch." His cell phone starts to ring again it was an unknown number calling so he hit the ignore button, hopefully sending the message that she wasn't in control of what was happening. Caleb put the phone back in his pocket and looked up at the house suddenly getting a feeling of loneliness coming over him. "Can't go in there yet." Caleb turned around and started to walk down the driveway, he didn't know where he was going but he didn't like the thought of sitting up in his room, thinking about what Sheena said and waiting for the time to pass when he would have to face her in the morning. Caleb reached the bottom of his driveway and looked back one more time before finalizing his decision to go for the walk.


	11. Chapter 11 Isaiah's Love

Isaiah stood up after turning the water on in the shower, starting it so that it would be warm by the time he was ready to get in. He sat and thought for a second before starting to undress, taking his time. He still hadn't really looked at the wound on his chest yet and now, he would have no choice, he had to wash it. The doctor had told him just to let water run over it to wash off any dried blood and to dry it with a blow dryer or to let it air dry until the stitching itself wasn't wet. He was sure it was going to be painful considering that it was pretty much still a fresh wound. Still in pain from the beating Isaiah slowly started to get undressed starting with his belt, pants and underwear. Isaiah looked in the mirror ready to take his shirt off when he stopped and turned so he would have his back to it. He slowly lifted his shirt off and looked down at the wound, it was still covered up with the white padding they had used at the hospital to dress it. He would have to remove it before he could get into the shower which was by now, warmed up and ready to go, he could tell by the steam coming from over the shower curtain. Isaiah carefully started to remove the dressing, starting at the corners and working his way around. He undid the final adhesive binding and the dressing came off. Isaiah put it right in the garbage and stepped into the shower. He got in the shower with his back to the water not wanting to let the water hit the wound right away at first. It felt strange just letting the air get into it, he thought it would probably hurt if the water hit it directly. Isaiah stepped back into the stream so that the water was wetting his hair. His hair quickly saturated with water and the spill over ran down over his face and chest, it didn't hurt as bad as he had prepared for but it still caused him some discomfort. Isaiah looked down and watched as the dried blood flaked away and went down the drain. He felt the urge to cry hit him as he thought briefly about having the scar for the rest of his life. Keeping himself distracted was the best way for him to avoid the tears, he grabbed his shampoo and put some into his hand and began washing his hair, leaning his head back trying to keep the shampoo from getting into the wound as he rinsed.

Isaiah quickly and carefully went through his shower routine and got out, he was tired and wanted to go to bed, he was looking forward to the solid night sleep. Also as it stood, the earlier he got to bed the sooner he would be able to see Caleb. Isaiah picked up the dryer and set it to a low setting beginning to blow dry the wound. Isaiah thought to himself keeping his mind occupied from what he was doing, he couldn't wait to be able to see Caleb in the morning, he had been the only thing keeping him together over the past few days. If things had of been any different and Caleb hadn't been in the picture he would probably have given up and just let his depression overtake him. He wasn't sure where he'd be, but he did know that it wouldn't have been a good place and he wasn't sure that he'd be alive.

"That's stupid, yes you would," he said aloud rethinking his situation. Even without Caleb he had a mother who would be there for him no matter what and a best friend who would kill for him if he asked her to. Isaiah smiled to himself as he sat the hair dryer on the counter, the stitches were dry enough so he decided to finish up by towelling off. It wasn't long before he was dried off. He got dressed in his usual nightclothes, a pair of pyjama pants and a button up shirt before starting to brush his teeth.

"Did you clean it up yet?" Carla yelled from the kitchen.

"Yeah mom, don't worry," Isaiah called back, "It's all good." Isaiah was about half way through brushing his teeth when his mom knocked at the door. Since Isaiah became a teenager he and his mother had developed a code for opening the doors, if he didn't say anything and he was in the bathroom after she knocked it was safe to enter.

"The doctor told me I need to take a look at it to make sure it's okay. You know I trust you but I have to."

"Really?" Isaiah knew she was trying to make sure he was safe but couldn't help but feel frustrated with the situation.

"Yes. Now open your shirt, please." Isaiah let out a sigh and hesitated for a few drawn out seconds. He slowly begins to unbutton his shirt and lowers it to his elbows.

"Okay?"

"They said to make sure there is no oozing or redness around it," explained Carla as she leaned in to get a closer look at it. Isaiah looked at the wound this being the first time he had seen it since he woke up that night. He couldn't help but remember the first time he woke up at the gym and saw it in the mirror, at its most gruesome. Briefly being able to see the wound in his mind as it was when he woke up that night brought him to tears. He had been holding it back but with his mother being there and being confronted with it the first time was too much for him to hold back. Carla looked up at him in the mirror then turned to him. "Oh honey, I know." Carla put her arms around him and pulled him into her. "It's gonna be okay. Wound's are only skin deep," she whispered while brushing a comforting hand through his damp hair. Isaiah sniffled and cried into her shoulder finding comfort in her motherly touch.

"I know," he cried.

"Shh, it's alright. Put your shirt back on and head to bed." Carla pulled away to be able to look Isaiah in the eye as she spoke. "You'll be okay, I'm here for you and so is he." Carla gave Isaiah a soft comforting smile. "I love you." Carla reached up and wiped away his tears with the back of her hand. Isaiah slid his shirt back on and buttoned it up.

"I love you too, mom. Good night." Isaiah smiled at his mother as she walked out of the room then went about finishing up his routine so he could get to bed. He rinsed his mouth out quickly and put away his toothbrush and walked to his bedroom. He flipped the switch on the radio on his way by, he liked to listen to the local easy listening channel before he went to sleep. He laid back on his bed without bothering to cover up, he put his hands behind his head and left one leg hanging off the bed. He let out a sigh and laid staring at the ceiling thinking about what he had seen in the mirror. "Some things seem like they'll never heal." A slow song started to play on the radio and Isaiah soon felt his eyes starting to get heavy. He decided to let himself drift off to the sleep he had been waiting for.

"Man, two came too quick," said Caleb talking to himself. It had been several hours since Caleb ventured out on his walk. He had glanced at his watch only then realizing that he had been walking for as long as he did. Caleb looked at his surroundings only half recognizing them, he knew he was somewhere close to elm street. Everything looked different in the darkness. Caleb had a night full with emotion, he had gone from crying and feeling sorry for himself and the situation he felt he had gotten them into. To feeling a rage inside of him that he didn't know he had in him to feel, he just didn't know why she had to be so ... "Difficult? I wish she could just drop it, but then she's never been the type to drop anything before," Caleb thought out loud as he walked. "Unless it was her that did something wrong." Sheena was infamous for getting into trouble and acting like she didn't do anything wrong, if someone brought it up then she would overreact and make a scene. Caleb didn't really want to think about her anymore but he couldn't help it. All he could think about was that tomorrow at school he would be facing a jury consisting of everyone at his school and she would be the judge. She was about to slam her gavel down on him and shatter his life into a million tiny pieces. "It's not like she's alone." Sheena had clearly moved on with the way that her and Chris had been acting. "What the hell am I gonna do?" Caleb stopped walking for a few seconds trying to keep himself from collapsing to his knees from the pressure he was under. It took him a few minutes but Caleb managed to get himself back together and took a look around, realizing where he was. "Wow, I ... didn't realize I was this far from home," Caleb glanced at his watch again, it was reading two thirty. "It's too late to go back now." Caleb reached into his pocket and took out his cell phone, he turned it on and a random stranger walked by him giving him a strange look. "Isaiah..." Caleb whispered to himself. The stranger stopped walking and turned to face him.

"Excuse me?" he said.

"Oh nothing, sorry," said Caleb shyly.

"Aren't you Caleb Rodriguez?" Caleb looked at the man confused as to how he knew his name. The man was older and Caleb couldn't really see his face under the light from the nearby streetlights.

"Who are you?" Caleb tucked his cell phone into his pocket and turned to face the man.

"I'm surprised you don't recognize me, although it has been quite a long time." Caleb squinted trying to get a better look at him, still not really recognizing him. "How old were you, fifteen I think, last I saw you." As the man spoke Caleb's memory was jolted back to him, it was the man who he had met online when he was fifteen. "You know I live here, now." Caleb didn't really feel threatened but he certainly didn't feel safe meeting up with his former stalker on a dark quiet street.

"And I'm sorry, but I'm still not interested."

"Are you sure, I can see you've looked after yourself, you've grown up well." Caleb felt like he should call the cops or something to get this person off the streets and away from the rest of the world.

"Dude I'm really not in a good place right now, you should leave."

"Alright I'll leave ya alone, look me up though when you're feeling better my screen name hasn't changed." Caleb let out a sigh of frustration as the man turned to walk away, he had long blocked his screen name and changed his own to avoid any contact with this person. Caleb took out his cell phone again now that he was aware of how far away he was and how far he had gone his body was telling him it was time to sleep. He had to get off the street. Caleb realized he was on Elm Street which was significantly closer to Isaiah's house then it was to his. He felt guilty for calling Isaiah's phone so late, knowing that he was probably just as if not more exhausted then Caleb was, given what he had been through. But he didn't really have any other choice he couldn't stay on the street all night. He looked up Isaiah's cell phone number and pressed down on the call button he started to walk again as he put it to his ear. It rang several times before going to the default message telling him the person he was calling was away from their phone. Caleb let out a sigh and called again it started to ring again.

Isaiah lay asleep on the bed in the same pose he had laid down in. The radio station he had been listening to had long stopped broadcasting and the only thing that was coming from his radio was a quiet static. The room was dark all except for his cell phone that was on his end table, the face lit up as it vibrated on the table causing a noise. Isaiah opened his eyes.

"Huh?" It was a few seconds before Isaiah realized that his phone was even ringing, thinking that he might have been hearing his alarm clock going off. "Shoot." He quickly sat up and grabbed for the phone hitting the answer button on the face. "Hello?" Isaiah wasn't sure who would call him this late at night, he was already half expecting it to be a prank call of some sort, so he was defensive.

"Isaiah?" said the voice on the other end.

"Yeah," Isaiah couldn't help but think that of course it was him, they were calling his phone who else would have answered. "What's up?"

"It's Caleb." Caleb's voice from the other end sounded distressed, coupled with the fact that he was calling him at something to three in the morning he thought that there had to be something wrong.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Caleb's voice sounded different to him, he seemed rattled. "You sound different." Caleb let out a sigh as Isaiah spoke, telling him that he was stressing out about something.

"Well, I'm okay, but I've got a lot on my mind and I'm really tired," said Caleb.

"Okay," said Isaiah clearly confused. He was confused as to why Caleb was actually calling him, if he was tired then he should just go to bed. "Why are you calling so late?"

"Well, I can't go home. I'm too far away and I don't wanna wake up my parents." Caleb paused as things started to come together to Isaiah, he hadn't given him any clue that he was out of his house. "Can I, um, stay there tonight?" The tone in Caleb's voice made it sound like he was causing an inconvenience, Isaiah couldn't help but think how much better he would sleep in Caleb's arms.

"What, you think I'm really gonna say no? Yeah, you can stay," Isaiah was almost excited that Caleb would be staying with him but the fact that he was so tired was holding him back a bit.

"Only one problem. Can you come meet me? I don't really know my way around this part of town. At least not at night." Isaiah thought for a second that the statement didn't really make much sense but, it was true that Caleb hadn't really been around there much at night, other than to drop him off.

"Okay, I can meet you, but where are you?" Isaiah got up and slid on a t-shirt while keep the phone to his ear.

"I'm on Elm Street; the top half."

"Okay, that's not far from here," Isaiah was visualizing where Caleb most likely was and knew exactly where to go, he was already pathing the route there in his head. "See you in a minute."

"Cool." Caleb hung up the phone and Isaiah grabbed a pair of his gym pants to put on with a zip-up sweater. He put the hood up and quietly opened his door to his bedroom, his mother was typically a pretty heavy sleeper but he didn't want to risk waking her. The hallway was dark the only light shining in from the patio door at the end of the hall that attached to the kitchen. He took light, quick steps to avoid making any sounds and made it to the door he put on his sneakers quickly tying them. Isaiah stood up and looked outside the night looked calm but the rain was supposed to start any time now. He looked behind him making sure that his mother wasn't sneaking up behind him, then glanced at the door. It was going to be hard to open without making any noise, he would just have to hope that his mother wouldn't hear it. He grabbed his keys off the holder next to the door and placed his hand on the door knob turning it slowly. He heard the latch let go and the lock open. He pulled the door toward him and just as he expected it creaked. The noise sounded like it emanated through the entire house but he was sure it was just because he had adjusted to the quiet. He quickly put his hand on the latched second door and opened it and walked out onto the step, pulling the first door shut behind him. Isaiah waited for a few seconds to see if there was some kind of reaction, when nothing happened he locked the door behind him and walked down off the steps. Isaiah walked out of his yard and headed down the street toward where Caleb had said he was. It had started to rain lightly as he walked, he was hoping that it would hold off until they got back to the house, he didn't feel like walking in the rain and being soaked. Though as the way everything outside of his relationship with Caleb seemed to be going as he walked the rain began to come down harder and harder. Isaiah picked up the pace walking as fast as he could without breaking into a run, with his head half down and his hands in his pockets. It was starting to get cold very quickly.

"Great," said Isaiah tucking himself into his sweater, "Just what needed to happen right now." Isaiah looked around at his surroundings he had been walking for almost ten minutes and he was coming up on Elm Street. "Should be almost to him. At least Elm is pretty close." He looked up ahead of him to see a figure walking at the other end of the street, it appeared to be coming toward him. He kept walking staring at the person expecting it to be Caleb, he thought that there wouldn't be anyone else out this late at night. The person gets close enough for him to make out a face and it wasn't Caleb. He quickly looked away trying to be inconspicuous about staring as the person walked by him. "Where is he?" Suddenly there was massive crack of thunder and the rain started coming down almost in blankets, it was pouring. Isaiah stopped walking, frustrated and looked up for a second at the rain coming down on him. He couldn't believe how bad his luck was, he started to jog to try and find Caleb quicker but it was completely inevitable that he would be soaked through before they got back to his house.

"Shit," Caleb was continuing to walk and the rain had soaked through his clothing, he was uncomfortable, tired and frustrated. He couldn't wait to lay his head down and put his arm around Isaiah and go to sleep. The rain had seemingly come out of nowhere, one minute it was clear the next it was lightly misting, and out of nowhere it was a full blown thunder storm. Caleb stopped walking and looking around feeling like he should have run into Isaiah by now. "I don't think this is Elm Street. Damnit, where am I?" He saw a sign close by and he ran over to it, according to the sign he was on Star Street. "I have to be close, must be the next street." Caleb turned around looking in all directions, the only way for him to get quickly to the right street was to hop a close by fence and run through a backyard or two. "That way. Has to be." Caleb took off running and bounded over the fence, he hit the ground with a thud. No sooner had he hit the ground could he hear a dog start barking and snarling. Caleb wasn't typically scared of dogs but he was scared of the fact that he couldn't see it anywhere and it sounded like a large breed. If it got a hold of him it would likely get the jump on him. He took off running as fast as he could, hoping that his track running would get him past the dog. He looked ahead of him into the darkness and a flash of lightning lit up the bushes and trees ahead of him. He ran through it catching one or two small branches to the face, he did his best to shield himself and luckily there didn't seem to be any thick branches in his way. There was another fence coming up that led into another yard and Caleb prepared for it. "Shoot, one more jump." Caleb hopped the next fence into a new yard and landed in a kid's pool, he staggered a bit and almost went rolling to the ground. "Son of a bitch!" He quickly regained his composure and kept running until he was out of the yard and onto the paved sidewalk.

Isaiah had made it to the top half of Elm Street and Caleb was nowhere to be found. He was beginning to think that Caleb may have been dreaming when he called him and talking in his sleep. It seemed unlikely but he couldn't see him anywhere. There was suddenly a lot of noise coming from a yard close to the other street, it almost sounded like an animal chasing something through the bushes. There was a dog barking and he briefly heard someone yell something out but it wasn't audible from the distance he was standing. Isaiah started to feel a small bit of fear bubbling in the pit of his stomach fearing that someone had been attacked by an animal. Suddenly the bushes nearest to the road at the edge of the bordering yard started to shake violently.

"What the..." Isaiah started to back off and jumped a little bit when a figure jumped through the bushes landing on one knee, breathing heavily. It didn't take long for Isaiah to recognize that it was probably Caleb.

"Whew," he said standing up slowly.

"Caleb?" Isaiah took a step forward as he called out.

"Heh, hey!" Caleb paused for a few seconds to catch his breath, "I was on the wrong street. Man this neighbourhood looks different in the dark," he called.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Little run and jump never hurt anyone." Caleb walked toward him slowly still slightly winded. "We should get out of this rain, though." Caleb smiled, the sight of Isaiah made his heart lighten suddenly giving him the strength to carry the weight that was on his shoulders.

"Yeah, let's go." Isaiah smiled back at him before turning to head back and Caleb ran up to walk beside him.

"Sounds good," Caleb couldn't help but feel weird being in his current predicament, "I didn't even realize I was this close to you. I just went out for a walk and before I knew it..."

"Weird," Isaiah glanced at Caleb as he walked, "Why'd you turn up here?"

"I don't know," Caleb felt bashful for what he was about to say but it really made sense, something inside him brought him to Isaiah, "Probably wanted to be close to you."

"I'm glad you showed up," said Isaiah smiling looking down at his feet as he walked then looking up at Caleb.

"Me too." Caleb met his gaze as they walked. Caleb looked up at the sky and let the rain hit his face. It was cold but something about it was relaxing for him. "Man, this rain came out of nowhere."

"Yeah," Isaiah looked around from underneath his now soaked through hood, "It's pretty rough." As he spoke a gust of wind hit the two of them, for a second Isaiah thought it might lift off with them. "It's just getting worse."

"Sorry," Caleb looked over at Isaiah feeling bad for making him come out in the rain but at the same time finding himself sexually attracted to Isaiah in his wet clothing. "I should've just shown up at your house so you wouldn't have to walk in the rain. Man, we're gonna be soaked when we get to your place." As Caleb spoke he realized his effort to make conversation made him feel stupid for stating the obvious.

"You're already soaked through, aren't you?" Isaiah looked Caleb up and down noting that his clothing was sticking to him.

"Yeah," Caleb had hoped that Isaiah wouldn't catch the obviousness in his statement. There was silence between them as they continued on their journey back to Isaiah's house the only noise was the wind in the trees and the rain falling all around them. "Your mom won't get mad at me, will she?"

"For what?" asked Isaiah sounding confused.

"Well," Caleb tugged on his shirt there was a sucking noise as the shirt sopping wet shirt released his skin. "I'm gonna get her place soaked. It'd piss me off." Caleb laughed.

"I'm sure she won't mind for you." Isaiah laughed along with him until a thunder crash bellowed all around them and lightning zapped across the sky. Isaiah looked at Caleb with a sense of urgency in his facial features. "Come on, we should run." Isaiah started into a decently paced run.

"Hey, wait up!" Caleb called as he took to running. He caught up to him and the two of them ran the short distance home.

They ran into the driveway and Isaiah ran ahead of Caleb quickly up the steps to unlock the door. Isaiah pulled the keys out of his pocket and quickly realized that he had grabbed his mother's key set by accident, a testament to how tired he was. Being the manager at the grocery store meant she had several keys on her keychain, the store key, key to the fridge at the store, the key to the safe and the key to the warehouse door among many others. Had it been day light Isaiah wouldn't have had any issue picking the house key but it was dark and he couldn't really see what he was doing. Isaiah tried several and none of them seemed to be working then he got one stuck in the door and it wouldn't turn.

"This rain is freakin cold, too," said Caleb trying to rub his shoulders to generate some sort of heat. Isaiah was starting to get frustrated that he couldn't open the door he pulled the key out and jammed it again.

"Dammit, it's stuck, I think." There was a clicking noise as Isaiah turned the key, "There it goes." Isaiah pushed on the door one more time and put a little bit too much force into it. As the door swung open it hit the wall making a loud noise and Isaiah fell to the ground landing on all fours. He crawled in the rest of the way thinking that his mother was going to hear them for sure and feeling like a fool for crawling in the door like a dog. Caleb walked in behind him and shut both doors he sat the keys on the countertop, Isaiah leaned back against the wall and started to take off his sneakers.

"Are you okay?" asked Caleb securing the door behind him.

"Yeah." Isaiah exhaled after a deep breath he was starting to feel discomfort in his chest from being so wet and cold. The light in the kitchen suddenly turned on and Caleb and Isaiah both looked up to see Carla standing only a few feet from them in her night gown.

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked. Carla paused waiting for a reply but the both of them just stared in silence, Caleb put his head down trying to be as respectful as he could. "Wow, deer in headlights."

"Um, sorry," Caleb couldn't tell if Carla was being sarcastic or if she was upset so he felt he should explain himself. "I went for a walk and I ended up a lot farther away than I thought I would.

"I went to meet him." From the way Isaiah spoke Caleb wasn't sure if he could tell either, it was comforting that he wasn't the only one. "Can he stay for the night?" Isaiah sounded almost pleading.

"Yeah," Carla smiled, "Why didn't you wake me?" The tone in Carla's voice was almost disappointed. "I could of gone and picked him up instead of you two walking in the rain."

"We're fine." Isaiah stood up and sat his sneakers on the heater next to the door. "I wasn't thinking of that. When he called, it wasn't raining." Carla turned around to look at the clock that sat above the kitchen table

"Oh my god, it's twenty after three. I need to work in the morning." Carla walked over to the kitchen table and turned back to face them. "You boys go right to bed. You have school remember."

"Planning on it. I'm beat," said Caleb. Carla walked back into her room and went to bed. Caleb bent over to take his sneakers off realizing that they were soaked through as well from when he jumped into the kid's pool. "Man, these are soaked, too. I fell into a kiddie pool when I jumped that last fence," he explained as he slid off his sneakers.

"Yeah, mine too. Just put them in front of the heater."

"Okay." Caleb did as Isaiah said and put his sneakers in front of the base board heater; he took off his socks and placed them in a position on his sneakers hoping they would dry along with them. Isaiah made sure that the heater was on and then shut the light off in the kitchen and the two of them walked into Isaiah's bedroom. He shut the door behind them as they stepped into the bedroom and turned on the small lamp by his bed. Caleb lifted his shirt off over his head, happy to get out of the wet clothing. "I don't think you have any clothes that'll fit me." Isaiah started to root through his drawers looking for some shorts.

"I can give you a pair of shorts anyway." Isaiah reached in and grabbed a pair of red shorts with an elastic waistband on them. "I'll put your clothes in the dryer for you." Caleb laughed and undid his pants. Isaiah passed Caleb the shorts and he took off his underwear then pulled up the shorts.

"Yes sir." Caleb passed his clothing to Isaiah and sat down on the bed looking at him. "Thanks for letting me come over tonight."

"I wasn't gonna say no," Isaiah smiled at him and took out a white muscle shirt and a pair of shorts for himself. Isaiah wasn't sure why Caleb was acting like he was, he seemed different to him. He couldn't actually think that after the week they had, had that he'd not want him to be near him. Isaiah took Caleb's clothing and threw it into a basket by the door, he slid his own clothes off quickly with his back to Caleb and quickly put on the shorts and muscle shirt.

"Thanks."

"I'll be right back." Isaiah picked up the basket and left the room. Caleb realized that this was his first time in Isaiah's bedroom. He looked around the small room taking in the surroundings. It seemed like some stuff was missing that Caleb just assumed that every teenager had in their rooms, stuff like a television and some sort of computer. He took note of the abundance of books that were on Isaiah's bookshelf along with several of his academic awards that he had accumulated throughout his high school career. Isaiah was as gifted with academics all through school just like Caleb was with sports his whole school career. He stood up and looked at one of the awards he read the face on it, it was something Isaiah had gotten in tenth grade for his grades in History and English. He reached up but before he could touch it he heard the dryer turn on, startled he turned to go back to the bed and realized that the bed was only a single. They would literally be wrapped up in each other for the night. Either that or one of them would be on the floor. Isaiah walked back in the room and Caleb looked up at him. "What?" he asked seeing Caleb's expression.

"Oh, nothing," Caleb took a seat on the edge of the bed and looked up at Isaiah. "Just taking in the surroundings, I guess, this is my first time your room."

"Yeah, I know it's not much," Isaiah went about closing the drawers he had opened and stuffing the clothing back inside. "Certainly not what you're used to, but I like it."

"There's nothing wrong with," Caleb smiled and leaned back on the bed already getting the urge to close his eyes and sleep.

"I didn't think there was," Caleb couldn't help but here the irritation in Isaiah's voice, he had clearly taken something he said the wrong way, "Not everyone has what you have, Caleb." Isaiah sat down on the bed next to him and crossed his legs in front of him.

"Hey, now what's that supposed to mean?" Caleb was offended that Isaiah thought he would be so ignorant.

"Well, not everyone gets to walk through life and have everything handed to them." Something had clearly set Isaiah off and Caleb wasn't sure if it was because he was tired or if he was actually mad at him. Caleb felt he had to defend himself he didn't want for Isaiah to think for a second that he ever thought like that.

"I'm well aware of that, Isaiah. What would make you think I thought that?" Isaiah looked down at him, Caleb had a hurt expression on his face. Despite what his parents thought and tried to teach him, he didn't think that he was better than anyone.

"I'm sorry. I just get a little defensive sometimes about that stuff." Isaiah lied down on the bed and Caleb reached over and shut the light off, he sat on the edge of the bed kind of staring into the darkness.

"It's okay. I know I have a lot, but my parents are always gone, so they try to supplement with buying me stuff," Caleb explained although he thought that this was something he had gotten across to Isaiah before. "Honestly, I'm a bit jealous of you and your mother. You two have an awesome relationship." Caleb wiped at his eyes as he thought of his relationship with his parents. He was glad the lights were out he didn't want Isaiah to see how upset it really made him that he wasn't close to his parents.

"I know. I'm lucky that way, I guess."

"We're all lucky somewhere in life. We just sometimes have to open our eyes a bit more to see." Caleb searched the bed for Isaiah's hand in the darkness and took it tightly once he found it. Isaiah squeezing back was enough to tell him that he knew what Caleb was talking about.

"Come on, let's go to sleep," Isaiah whispered softly. Isaiah sat up and pulled the covers down on the bed and climbed in. Caleb got into the bed with him and lay on his back he felt Isaiah rest his head on his chest and rested his arm across Caleb's abdomen.

"Yeah. I think we will need a double bed at some point, though, but we can work on that," Caleb teased.

"Oh, whatever." Isaiah laughed and turned away from him in the bed.

"Hey, now I'm kidding."

"I know that." Caleb rolled over onto his side and put his arm around him and kissed the back of his neck. The two of them were quiet for a few seconds the only sounds were the house shifting in the rain and the rain hitting the window aside from the two of them breathing. Caleb suddenly thought of Sheena and her phone call he wanted to tell Isaiah so that he wouldn't be caught off guard when she actually did what she threatened to do.

"So I got a call from Sheena tonight," he whispered.

"What did she want?" Concerned Isaiah turned to look back at Caleb.

"Oh, basically to tell me that, tomorrow at the safety assembly she's going to tell everyone what she saw." Isaiah sat up and looked down at Caleb, he could only see his faceless silhouette in the dark.

"What? Really? What do you think about that?"

"I don't know, but I'm not going to let her be the one to tell everyone about us."

"Any idea what you're gonna do?" asked Isaiah.

"Not really." Caleb thought for a few drawn out seconds about the question. "I figure I'll think of something just as I need to."

"I hope so. I don't want anything to happen to you like it did me." Isaiah paused in thought. "So, what do you think Jonathan will say about us?"

"Well," The way Jonathan had been acting it was probably obvious to both of them what he was going to do once he found out for certain that they were together, "the obvious. He's going to flip out for a bit." Caleb thought for a moment about how things were never going to be the same between him and Jonathan again. Jonathan was part of a chapter of his life that was likely to be closed with the end of high school. Part of him was sad about losing someone who for many years he had considered a good friend, someone he had a lot of fine memories with. But the other part of him knew that it was something that had to be, especially if he couldn't come to accept the fact that he and Isaiah were together. He got to thinking and it would probably be more detrimental to Jonathan than it was for him, in the end Jonathan was losing the place to stay when he and his parents had gotten into a fight and threw him out of the house. With the cancellation of the game a lot of the guys would be losing their chance to speak with scouts for University, Jonathan included was losing his only hope of escaping a world of drugs and minimum wage jobs. Caleb took sympathy on them and was glad that his father had set up a private session for him to perform for a couple of different scouts. "The way he's been acting since the party scares me, it's a side of him I've never seen before."

"What did he do?" asked Isaiah.

"Well, he said some pretty nasty stuff about you that night at the hospital. I shut him down pretty quickly though." Caleb laid onto his back.

"I don't know. Something to deal with later on, I think." Caleb agreed with Isaiah, it was something that for at least the time being was completely out of their control. "Can we go to sleep now? We have to get up early to catch the bus since you don't have the truck." Caleb hadn't even considered the fact that he didn't have the truck and he would be missing an extra hour or so of sleep when the time came to get up.

"Yeah, let's sleep." Isaiah moved in closer to Caleb and laid his head on his chest, he closed his eyes and Caleb puts his arm around him. The two of them drifted off to sleep and slept the remainder of the night.

Caleb opened his eyes and looked at the clock on the end table next to their heads. It was flashing in big green letters that it was ten minutes to six meaning that they would have to get up soon. Caleb could hear the rain still tapping against the window letting him know that the storm was still going fairly strong, he could feel the small house shake slightly with the occasional gust of wind. He could hear movement out in the kitchen, Carla was up he assumed going through her regular routine and getting ready for work. Isaiah was still sleeping on his chest, it appeared that he hadn't moved all night and neither had he. Caleb laid their thinking about what the day was about to bring, just thinking about it made him get butterflies in his stomach as his nerves built up. He still wasn't sure what he was going to do about Sheena or if he was even going to do anything. He knew that whatever he did was going to have to be drastic to take the spot light off of her. There was a soft knock on the door and Carla opened it, she walked in and smiled at them.

"Good morning," she talked quietly so she wouldn't wake Isaiah up right away. "You guys should start getting ready to go." Caleb looked over at her trying not to move too much not wanting to really wake Isaiah up yet.

"Yeah, I'll wake him in a minute," he said quietly matching her tone.

"Okay, Caleb." Carla smiled at him and walked out shutting door quietly. Caleb relaxed on the bed rubbing his hands through Isaiah's hair, he didn't want the moment to end so he put off waking Isaiah yet.

"Wish we could just stay this way forever," he whispered to himself. Carla walked back in with what appeared to be his clothing in her hands and sat it on the dresser next to the door.

"Caleb, I washed the clothes you had on last night, by the way, so you'd have something to wear today," she explained.

"Oh wow, thank you," said Caleb gratefully, "You didn't have to."

"Don't mention it. Of course I had to." Carla stared at them for a few seconds, "You make him so happy, Caleb. Thank you." Caleb could feel the blood rush to his face telling him that he was blushing.

"Yeah, I know. He makes me happy, too," Caleb just said what was in his heart, it was the first thing that came to his mind and it was true.

Isaiah had been laying awake since his mother walked in the first time listening to Caleb's heart beating in his ear. He wanted to be able to just lay there with him and forget anything else existed. Caleb's heart had started to race when Carla said about him making Isaiah happy, telling him that he was probably embarrassed to be telling his mother this stuff.

"Mom, stop embarrassing him, please," said Isaiah talking with his eyes still closed.

"I know. I'm sorry," she laughed. Carla's tone changed to semi serious although still light hearted. "Get up. I'm leaving for work. You have to get ready to go." Isaiah sat up resting most of his weight on one arm and wiping his eyes with his free hand.

"We're getting up." Carla walked out of the room satisfied that they were awake and wouldn't be late for the bus.

"I'll see you tonight. I love you," she yelled from the kitchen.

"Love you too, mom," called Isaiah rolling his eyes and leaning his head back. They heard the kitchen door open and shut as Carla left the house to head for work. Caleb couldn't help but laugh at Isaiah's reaction to his mother, he could tell that he wasn't used to being around his mother with a boyfriend.

"Alright, let's get up." Caleb sat up and stood up into a big stretch. "You wanna shower first or me." Isaiah watched as Caleb stretched, he could see the muscles moving in his back. When he looked at Caleb, Isaiah still had a hard time believing that all of what had happened wasn't some dream, he just couldn't believe that he had ended up with the one whom he considered to be the most beautiful human being in his life, both visually and emotionally.

"Up to you."

"You go ahead. I won't take very long." Isaiah nodded and got up off of the bed, he walked over to his dresser and his underwear and socks. "I can't believe your mom washed my clothes." Isaiah walked over to his closet and grabbed an outfit for the day. Caleb grabbed his clothing off the dresser and the two of them went to the bathroom.

"Did you wanna shave or something?" asked Isaiah as he started to undress. Caleb stood watching him.

"No." Caleb paused and touched each side of his face. "Why? Do you think I should?" Isaiah couldn't help but notice Caleb's paranoia the second he thought someone was judging the way he looked. Isaiah reached in and started the shower.

"Well, no. I just asked," he said looking back at Caleb, "I don't know what you do in the mornings." Isaiah got in the shower and pulled the curtain across the tub.

"Oh, sorry." Caleb paused and Isaiah grabbed his body soap and started to lather up only even showering to get the rain water off his skin. "What time does the bus get here anyway?"

"Somewhere around seven thirty."

"We've got plenty of time then," said Caleb cracking a smile.

"Yeah, I guess," said Isaiah. He wasn't really sure what Caleb was referring to, it was already six thirty they didn't have a lot of time. Caleb took off his shorts and opened the curtain from behind Isaiah and got in the shower with him. He stepped up behind him and put his arms around him resting both of his hands on his shoulders and sliding them down his arms, making their way to his hips. Caleb kissed the back of Isaiah's neck and rested his hands on his abdomen. Isaiah looked back at him and smiled. "What are you doing?" Caleb continued to kiss his neck and rub his hands up and down his sides only touching him with his finger tips.

"Come on, please," Caleb pleaded. Caleb started to kiss Isaiah's shoulders and back, Isaiah let out a sigh not able to resist him any longer. Isaiah turned around and pulled him aggressively into the water. He started to kiss him passionately rubbing his hand up Caleb's side and up his neck eventually resting it on the back of his neck, all the while rubbing the other hand through Caleb's short dark hair. "You're so hot," Caleb whispered.

"So are you." Isaiah never thought that he'd ever be the type of person to have any type of sexual encounter is his mother's house, but he couldn't control himself, as soon as Caleb got in the shower and touched him he knew what was going to happen.

Caleb watched as Isaiah kissed him along his chest lower and lower, he was excited for what was about to happen, he loved how Isaiah's touch felt to him nothing got him excited more. Isaiah started to go down on him. "Oh my god." Caleb braced himself against the wall and moaned in pleasure after only a few minutes he could feel himself getting close to climax. "I'm getting close." Isaiah brought Caleb right to the edge of climax before he pulled back. "Stop." He touched Isaiah's face and coaxed him to his feet. Both of them were breathing heavily with excitement.

"Why did you stop me?" asked Isaiah confused thinking he had done something wrong. Caleb ran his hand down Isaiah's side gently and looked him in the eyes before kissing him.

"I don't want this to end yet," he whispered. Caleb kissed Isaiah on either shoulder and began to kiss lower, moving slowly down his chest in between the wounds. Isaiah quivered from the touch as Caleb's lips against his abdomen.

Sheena and Chris were sitting on the bus together chatting with Stephanie and Katelyn. They were in the last seat on the bus and Katelyn and Stephanie sat in front of them. They had partied until four in the morning but Chris and Stephanie were the only two who appeared to be suffering from it. Katelyn ended up spending some time with her boyfriend from out of town and not showing up. Mike and Andrew left at one and Chris, Sheena and Stephanie kept partying until their high wore off. Sheena wouldn't often get to be too hung over when it came to their parties, but she would get just as much of a headache listening to everyone else complain so it didn't always matter. Chris had been complaining since they woke up that morning and didn't seem like he was going to stop anytime soon. She watched as he laid back in his seat and put his hands on his head.

"Man, I'm so tired. Why did we stay up so late last night?" he whine.

"Well it's not like you didn't enjoy yourself or something," said Sheena sick of his whining.

"I'm so hung over," whined Stephanie turning around in her seat to face them. "I know I say this every time, but I'm never drinking again." Katelyn sat next to Stephanie fiddling with her phone as Stephanie finished her sentence she looked up from what she was doing then looked back at them.

"Yeah, whatever. Like you said, every time you do this, you say that," Katelyn laughed.

"I'm not hung over at all." Sheena looked at Katelyn then over at Chris neither one of them believed him. Sheena knew that he was hung over, he had been sick before they left to get on the bus. "I'm just so frigging tired and I don't know why. It's not like this is our first time partying all night."

"Well," said Katelyn, "maybe it's time for you to stop for a little while. It might be catching up to you."

"Nah, I'll be fine." Sheena rolled her eyes at Chris he was clearly trying to hold up the tough guy facade and she didn't appreciate it. Mostly since she had seen him that mourning acting like a baby when they first got out of bed. "We've got history for second period today. Sounds like a good time to catch up on some sleep to me, right?"

"For real." Stephanie turned around and sat heavily into her seat on the bus and let out a sigh. "Katelyn, do you have your Advil with you right now?"

"I do," Katelyn picked up her purse, "but are you just gonna take them dry?" Katelyn laughed as she dug through her purse. Everyone knew that Katelyn always kept basic medications with her, if you had a headache she was the person to ask.

"Better then not taking them." Katelyn pulled a small bottle out of her purse and read the label making sure it was what they were looking for.

"Here." She passed Stephanie the bottle and she took two tablets out of it and passed it back to her. Stephanie popped the tablets in her mouth and swallowed hard making a strange face then shaking her head.

"I don't know how you can do that," said Sheena almost disgusted at the display.

"I wonder where Caleb is today," said Chris observing the fact that they hadn't picked Caleb up at his usual stop today. "We didn't stop and pick him up."

"He's probably bringing the truck in." It bothered Sheena that Chris even brought it up wondering why he even cared anymore. They certainly weren't friends now that he knew what Caleb really was, even if he wanted to be Chris's family was heavily Pentecostal they would never let him speak to Caleb. Sheena couldn't wait to stand up in front of their school and unveil Caleb's secret, it was almost like a ribbon cutting ceremony. She couldn't wait to see the look on his face when all of his class mates started laughing and criticising him, she knew it was going to rip him apart. It seemed like nothing bothered Caleb more then when people thought badly of him. The expression on Katelyn's face changed to that of one of concerned and Sheena let out a sigh of frustration almost sure of what she was about to say.

"Sheena, are you still going to do what you said you were gonna do?" she said.

"Yes," said Sheena not bothering to hide her frustration, "Why shouldn't I?"

"It just seems so harsh to go that far. I mean, don't get me wrong. For cheating, he is a bastard. But I just don't think you have the right to ruin his life over it."

"If it was going to ruin his life, then he should have thought of that before he did it," She was through tolerating Katelyn's "poor Caleb" attitude and couldn't help but snap at her. The bus started to slow down as it pulled up to Isaiah's bus stop. Chris noticed that Caleb and Isaiah were standing at the bus stop.

"Man, is that Caleb with Isaiah?" he asked stating the obvious. The bus came to a full halt and the two of them stepped up onto the bus. They watched as Caleb and Isaiah walked to roughly the middle of the bus, neither one of them even making eye contact with any of them before sitting down in one of the seats together.

"It is," answered Sheena with sarcasm.

"Awe, man." Chris looked at them for a minute and everyone seemed to be caught in an awkward silence. "I didn't wanna believe it, Sheena." Chris stood up and walked over to Caleb and Isaiah. Sheena didn't know what he was doing but she knew it wouldn't turn out to be anything good. She knew Caleb was good at holding back his anger, but she knew that he was most likely at the end of his nerves, he most likely wouldn't be able to hold it back.

Isaiah glanced behind him as Chris stood up and walked toward them, with every step he took he could feel more and more anxiety with what was about to happen. He didn't want Caleb to have to defend himself against an emotional attack but it didn't look like he would have much choice in the matter. Isaiah felt his heart sink in his chest as Chris sat across from them.

"Hey guys, what's up?" asked Chris. The tension in Isaiah's chest relaxed a little bit from Chris's easy going tone of voice. "C, what are you doing here with him?" Chris looked from Caleb to Isaiah and he felt the tension come back almost as soon as it had left him. Chris looked at Caleb expectantly waiting for an answer.

"I guess I ended up going for a long walk last night. Had a lot on my mind, so I ended up going further than I thought I was going to." Caleb paused and appeared to be thinking his words through. "Not that I need to explain myself to you." Caleb spoke rather snidely and Isaiah could already see a situation developing.

"Yeah, so I went and met and he stayed with me last night," Isaiah hoped that his explanation would take Chris's attention away from Caleb's snide remark.

"Well man," A smile formed on Chris's face as he spoke, "I guess what they're saying about you is true, huh?"

"Depends what's being said and who the hell they are." Isaiah wasn't sure if Caleb was trying to get Chris to come right out and say it so he could hit him, or if he was just trying to discredit Sheena.

"I think you know who and what I'm talking about, dude."

"I think so too, and it's true..." Isaiah looked at Caleb shocked that he would reveal himself just like that, also able to see how much it was draining him. Caleb looked at Isaiah as if drawing strength from his gaze, "and you know what, it doesn't matter either." Caleb flashed Isaiah a discrete smile. Isaiah wanted to smile back at him but he was too tense to really do anything, normally he would have been worried about Chris seeing him, but it appeared they were through hiding things from people. "

"Pft. If you say so, dude," said Chris standing up to leave. "If you say so, dude." Aggressively, Caleb stood up standing face to face with Chris, half blocking his route back to the others.

"Just what the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Isaiah had never really seen Caleb lose his temper like this before, a couple of games throughout the season he had come close with a few bad calls by the referee. But never had it been to this point before. Isaiah could see a sudden look of fear come into Chris's features that replace his usual cocky attitude. It was nice for Isaiah to be around him and it be Chris that felt the feeling of fear.

"Dude, calm down," said Chris, "It's me, Chris, remember? I'm not gonna fight you." Chris seemed to be pleading with Caleb's sense of friendship, but Isaiah knew that even when they were friends they weren't great friends. Isaiah watched as Sheena stood up and walked over to them, her typical attitude shining through before she had even said anything. Caleb and Chris both looked at her Caleb only glancing Chris seemed to be asking for help with his eyes.

"Caleb, stop being an idiot!" said Sheena seemingly trying to assert an authority that no longer existed.

"Go fuck yourself," said Caleb looking at Sheena. A look of shock came over Sheena's face as Caleb said something to her that he probably wanted to say for a very long time. Isaiah stood up behind Caleb wanting to try and calm him down, he didn't want him to get himself into trouble over Chris, it just wasn't worth it.

"What are you gonna do," said Chris misconstrue Isaiah's movements as aggression toward him. "Faggot." At the sound of the word Caleb's raised his hand quickly grabbing Chris around the neck without saying a word. Isaiah could tell by the look on Chris's face that he couldn't breath as he brought his hands up to pull Caleb off him. Sheena quickly put herself between the two of them with panic in her eyes facing Caleb.

"Caleb, stop it." All of the commotion caught the attention of the bus driver, someone most people only heard of if they were doing something wrong. He looked back at them in his mirror twice quickly glance between the mirror and the road.

"What's going on back there?" he called sternly. Isaiah looked up at the bus driver not really sure what to do. He could see the bus driver getting more agitated as each second passed, he looked up at Caleb not able to see his eyes.

"Caleb?" he whispered softly so only Caleb would hear him.

"Do I have to pull this bus over?" As the bus driver paid more attention to what was happened so did the rest of the people on the bus. There wasn't a lot of people on board yet, but those who were had stopped whatever they were doing and stared at them.

"Dude?" said Chris. Caleb just glared at him tightening his grip, Caleb didn't seem to hear what was going on around him. Isaiah knew that he had to get through to him or the bus driver would throw Caleb off the bus and he'd get expelled from the school. The school system was very intolerant of any type of violence or rough housing on the bus, they had recently instituted a zero-tolerance program for the last year. If you did something they considered to be violent or dangerous on the bus then they expelled you, no exceptions, and this would fit the category.

"Caleb," said Isaiah quietly. Isaiah reached out and touched Caleb's other hand that was hanging by his side, no one else seem to notice and if they did they certainly wouldn't say anything. "You know he's not worth it."

"Hey!" yelled the bus driver angrily. The bus started to slow down as Caleb seemed to snap out of it as he looked at Isaiah. Caleb pushed Chris away and he cradled his neck, coughing a bit. Sheena glared at Caleb and Isaiah before helping Chris to the back of the bus. Caleb dropped down on his seat and let out a sigh in frustration. Isaiah nodded to the bus driver letting him know that the situation had ended, he sat down and exhaled.

"Great, today is going to be an interesting day, I see," said Isaiah quietly.

"To say the least," sighed Caleb. With all the commotion going on Isaiah just realized that Casey hadn't come onto the bus. He took out his cell phone and typed up a text message to try and get a hold of her. "What are you doing?" asked Caleb.

"I'm just seeing where Casey is and telling her to get ready for the day." Isaiah hit the send button on his phone and watched as the bar appeared and signalled him the message had been sent.

"I wonder if that assembly is first thing?" Caleb's hands were clammy with nerves, his anxiety was really starting to get the best of him he didn't know what he was going to do to stop Sheena from getting up and outing them to the entire school. He had never had this type of anxiety before. Being with Isaiah helped him feel better but as the moment where their relationship would become public knowledge he felt it becoming harder and harder to keep his cool.

"More than likely. That's when they do everything nowadays so they don't mess up the rest of the day, I guess." Isaiah laid back in his seat and spoke quietly. "I think that makes it more than clear that she is going to do what she said she would." Caleb knew Isaiah was just trying to talk through what was about to happen but he didn't want to think about it let alone talk about it. "Do you know what you're going to do yet?"

"Not at all."

"Are you scared?" Isaiah took Caleb's hand discretely trying to comfort him but it didn't seem to be working.

"A little." Caleb looked at Isaiah, the stress clearly showing in his face. Talking about it only seemed to be making it worse but Caleb knew that talking about it would be a good way to set his mind at ease even if it wasn't working right away.

"It's hard to say if we should be or not," said Isaiah referring to whether or not they should be scared, "I mean people aren't too fond of me, but you're the local football hero. It's not like everyone is just going to completely hate you all of a sudden." Isaiah had a point, just because he and Isaiah were together didn't change anything about who they were, anyone that mattered would be able to see that.

"Well I don't know. It's hard to say what people will do," Caleb paused thinking about what had happened to Isaiah in the past, "If someone messes with you again, from her on, they're messing with me too." Isaiah squeezed his hand and smiled at him gently.

"I don't think anything is going to happen like that again, but I'm glad you're there." Caleb sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees, he looked at him then rested his head on the seat ahead of them.

"Always." Isaiah looked at him and tapped the seat beside him. "Huh?" Caleb looked at him at first not realizing what he wanted as he realized that he had let go of Isaiah's hand when he sat forward. "Oh." Caleb sat back and put his feet up a bit so they could hold hands again.

The clock on Isaiah's phone told him that it was twenty minutes passed eight as the bus pulled up in front of the school to let the students off. There were a few people that Isaiah could already see standing in front of the school having a cigarette. They typically unlocked the doors at around eight o clock so unless you smoked there would be no reason to be out in the rain. Isaiah and Caleb both stood up to get off the bus waiting for the next opening in the slow moving line up to get off the bus. The next opening came and they stepped out into the line, most of the students had already jumped off the bus and could be seen filing into the front door of the school through the bus window. Isaiah stepped down off of the bus and into the rain, the rain wasn't as bad as it had been, it was falling steadily but there was no wind so it wasn't blowing around. He started walking toward the door when he saw Jonathan walking toward him, he wasn't sure what was about to happen but he felt he should stop walking. Someone bumped into him from behind almost knocking him over, Caleb grabbed his arm and stopped any chance of him falling to the ground. Jonathan looked at both as he approached, Isaiah wasn't sure if Jonathan was even looking for them as Sheena and the other got off the bus behind them.

"Hey, I wanna talk to you," said Jonathan as he got closer to them. Isaiah wasn't sure who Jonathan was talking to as it wasn't definite by judging his gaze.

"What about?" said Caleb taking on the assumption that Jonathan wanted to talk to him. Jonathan walked up to the two of them and stopped in his steps.

"Not you C," Jonathan looked at Caleb as he spoke then moved his gaze to Isaiah, "Him." Isaiah couldn't imagine what Jonathan would want to talk to him about, he looked up at Caleb who had automatically taken a defensive posture on the idea.

"What about?" asked Isaiah.

"Can we talk... alone..." Jonathan asked looking around nervously.

"No," said Caleb plainly. After what Jonathan had done and said in the past there was no way he was going to let Jonathan be alone with Isaiah. "If you two are going to talk I'm going to be there. How do we know you're not going to attack him or something?" Jonathan looked at Caleb then at Isaiah his eyes almost seemed to be pleading with him.

"Caleb man, I won't." For some reason beyond what his instinct was telling him, Isaiah believed that Jonathan wasn't going to hurt him. "Please."

"Okay," said Isaiah. Caleb looked at Isaiah surprised that he would agree to talk to him. "I'll be okay." Caleb looked at Jonathan with a convicting look as if to be warning him with his stare that he would be close by if anything happened.

"Alright then, I'll be close by." Caleb walked over to the door of the school and leaned against the wall just out of the rain.

"Can we talk somewhere a little more private."

"I guess, but I'm not going too far." Jonathan led Isaiah away from the bus and the school door still staying in sight of the door. Isaiah still had no idea why Jonathan would want to talk to him. This was the first time that he had ever talked to him like another person without insulting him or being disrespectful. Isaiah looked back at the doorway to the school and could see Caleb standing with a group of people but looking in the general direction. The two of them walking off had drawn some attention he could see that Chris was pointing in their general direction and saying something to Sheena. Jonathan stopped and looked at them, Isaiah noticed him staring for a minute. "Does it bother you ... that they're talking about you because you're talking to me?" asked Isaiah subtly. Jonathan looked at Isaiah for a few seconds with an almost sarcastic look on his face.

"Dude, I know we might have seemed like we were kinda friends for a little while in there. But I still hate her, that's something that'll change, she's a stupid bitch," Jonathan ranted.

"I guess that's something we have in common." Isaiah watched as Sheena started laughing about something Chris had said to her, they were still looking at her when Jonathan raised his hand. At first Isaiah thought he was waiving at her but he quickly realized he was giving her the finger. A look of insult quickly came over her face and she turned away, Chris looked back at Jonathan shook his head and turned toward Sheena. "Okay so what did you wanna talk about?" asked Isaiah. Jonathan turned toward Isaiah and leaned against the brick wall of the school.

"I just..." Jonathan started not really sure what he wanted to say, "Well..." Jonathan let out a sigh of frustration and Isaiah looked at him, waiting for something to be said.

"I'm sorry but I need to go." Isaiah didn't really want to be out in the rain anymore let alone waiting for Jonathan to decide to tell him what he wanted to say.

"Do you know where I slept last night?" Jonathan blurted out as Isaiah turned to walk away. Isaiah wasn't sure he understood the relevance of the question, he assumed Jonathan slept at home like any other teenager. "I slept at some stranger's house." Isaiah turned around to face him, he looked at his features, Jonathan seemed distressed over something but Isaiah wasn't really sure what to expect. "I got into a fist fight with my step dad, he attacked my mom and she screamed for me to save her." Isaiah suddenly felt guilty for dismissing Jonathan as being mean to him just for the sake of being mean. He never thought that there could be a deeper reason for everything, it was hard to look beyond when someone was bullying you that they might have a deeper pain that you didn't know about. "I knocked the guy out..." Jonathan continued, "Then once we left she kicked me out of the car screaming at me."

"Jonathan why are you telling me this?" asked Isaiah with a confused look on his face. Jonathan looked at him for a second it was obvious that Jonathan wanted to say something to him but he was having trouble getting it out.

"I'm not really sure," Jonathan paused and there was an awkward silence, "This guy let me stay at his house... I would have normally stayed with Caleb, but I knew that wouldn't work, given how everything's been lately." Jonathan paused again thinking out his words. "I want my buddy back man..." Isaiah stared at him for what seemed like forever, in actuality only a few seconds passed.

"You're the one who's tried to make my life hell on earth, remember," Isaiah reminded. Jonathan shook his head agreeing with Isaiah.

"Well, how about we hang out sometime," Isaiah was shocked at even the thought of the three of them being friends and hanging out. "Just the three of us?" said Jonathan with a questioning inflection in his voice. Isaiah didn't really know how to respond to what Jonathan said, he didn't think that he would ever even consider being friends with Jonathan.

"I better go," said Isaiah clearly lost for words. "I'm sorry." Isaiah turned and walked away from Jonathan quickly heading for the door to the school where Caleb was still standing.

Caleb watched as Isaiah walked toward him, he watched as Jonathan shook his head and walked away. Caleb was surprised that Jonathan could even be civil to Isaiah enough to have a conversation with him and was curious what he wanted to talk to him about that was so important. He had been sitting and listening to the people around him talking, specifically Sheena and Chris, he couldn't catch it all. Chris found it strange for them to walk off and talk alone, Chris's wording put Caleb off when he had said. "After what Jonathan did to Isaiah." It made it sound like he had done something other then what everyone knew about it. Sheena agreed with him, then laughed it off before Jonathan flashed her the middle finger. Chris had gotten defensive and wanted to attack Jonathan. Caleb found this somewhat funny, Chris never had a reputation as being a fighter, Jonathan however was a fighter and knew how to handle himself in a fight. Caleb didn't think it would last long if that was what it came down to. Isaiah stepped up to him and gave him a nervous smile, Caleb could tell that Jonathan must have said something to throw him off.

"What did he say?" he asked, "He didn't threaten you, did he?"

"No," Isaiah shifted his back pack to the other shoulder and got in under the doorway to get out of the rain. "Nothing like that, it was certainly something I didn't expect him to say though." Caleb looked at Isaiah waiting for him to tell him the rest of the story. "He said he wants ..." Isaiah stopped mid-sentence not really sure if he had heard right. "He wants the three of us to hang out sometime." Caleb looked at Isaiah surprised by Jonathan's words and looked passed him to see if Jonathan was still standing there, but he had already left. Caleb had mixed feelings about Jonathan wanting to hang out with them, part of him was happy to be able to hang out with his best friend and his boyfriend. But the other part of him was scared that there would be no way for them to get along now that he wasn't what he was when he and Jonathan used to hang out.

"Really, what do you think of that?" asked Caleb. Isaiah looked around and then up at the sky as the rain seemed to pick up a bit.

"I think we should go inside." It wasn't hard for Caleb to get the message that Isaiah didn't feel like talking about it so he decided to let it slip for now, it would be something they could talk about later on. They both knew there was more pressing matters to take care of, the only issue being was that Caleb still was unsure of how he was going to take care of it. He began thinking of going to the principal and telling him what Sheena planned to do but he didn't want the principal to think he was using him. The two of them walked into the school and Casey walked over to them and started talking to Isaiah. Caleb zoned out of the conversation as he got deep into his own thoughts, wondering why he hadn't seen Mike or Andrew all morning. Isaiah and Casey started to walk toward their first class, Caleb hadn't heard anything they said but he followed them anyway. They headed by the office and they could see a police officer standing inside talking to the principal. Caleb assumed that he was here for the assembly, it wasn't often that police would visit their school. They headed upstairs to the second floor landing where a lot of students would linger particularly on rainy days to avoid being wet and uncomfortable all day. Caleb came to realize that today's rainy day would be no different in this sense. Normally it didn't bother him being in a crowd but he found himself to be increasingly agitated as people kept bumping into him. It seemed like people were just being blatant about it, but they made it through the crowd without incident and headed into the classroom.

"Casey did you see Andrew and Mike at all yet today?" asked Caleb finding it strange that they were nowhere to be found. Casey and Isaiah looked at him and it became clear that they had been in the middle of a conversation judging by the confused looks on their faces. "Sorry, I've got a lot on my mind." Isaiah gave him a forgiving smile and Casey turned to sit down in her seat.

"I don't think they're coming today," she said, "If you didn't see them on the bus and they're not in here." Casey paused for a few seconds. "But I guess they could be in the assembly helping set up or something." At the mention of the assembly Caleb started to feel anxious feeling his palms getting clammy. He really just wanted the day to be over. Their teacher came into the room and Caleb suddenly realized that they were the only ones in the classroom.

"Why are you guys in here?" he asked. "You kids knew there was an assembly this morning right?"

"You mean we aren't even coming to class first?" Caleb couldn't help but have his anxiety shine through in his voice as he spoke, there was no way he could hide it.

"No we're not going to this morning, just go to the auditorium right away." The teacher grabbed a book of his desk and walked out quickly seemingly late for something. Caleb let out a sigh in frustration as he picked up his stuff and headed out the door, Casey and Isaiah following close behind him.

"Are you okay, Caleb?" asked Isaiah. Caleb's answer was a slight nod telling Isaiah that he wasn't, but he was trying to hide it. They stepped into the third-floor door of the auditorium, the room was line with seats not unlike and old fashioned theatre where they would hold plays and musical. It had been a long time since Caleb was in the room, it was the newest room in the school and they done major construction on it recently to try and pretty it up a bit. It was constructed with the intent of using the school for different programs and performances but it never came to fruition. Therefore it would often only be used for the odd drama class or an assembly such as this one and even the odd football rally. They walked down the flight of steps to reach the row of seats fifth up from the stage so they'd be good and close. Sheena, Chris, Stephanie and Katelyn had already taken their seats in the row closest to the stage. Stephanie and Katelyn both looked up at them then Caleb watched as Stephanie leaned in to talk to Sheena. She looked back at him and smirked almost giving him an evil grin, Caleb smiled back at her trying not to let her know that she was getting the best of him. Caleb sat down in his chair next to Isaiah and Casey sat on the other side.

It wasn't long after they had sat down that the seats started to fill in as the rest of the student body filled the seats. Isaiah was pretty sure that the entire school was there even the junior students. They often had separate events for the younger kids and the older kids to prevent too much mixing of the different age groups. He looked down at Sheena and the others just wishing there was a way he could go and talk to her, to end the trouble before it began but he knew it was impossible. She would never listen to him. He had filled Casey in on what Sheena was going to do and she had no idea how to stop her from doing it either. Katelyn looked up and caught him staring down at them, she smiled at him but it wasn't a cocky "I just caught you staring" smile, it was more of a smile just to say hello. Isaiah smiled back at her before she looked away, he didn't have any issue with her just Sheena. He almost thought of pulling Katelyn away to talk to her but then he would have to tell her everything and it wasn't likely to deter Sheena from her plans. Isaiah took another look around noticing that the seats were practically full he saw that there were several of the teachers and other staff lingering in the doorways. There was a podium with a microphone sticking out of it in the middle of the stage where he assumed the principal spoke.

"What's taking them so long? I wish they would just start already to get this over with," said Caleb clearly getting impatient. Caleb and Isaiah both looked down at Sheena, she met their gaze and slowly turned away with a smirk on her face.

"Don't let her bother you," whispered Casey. The buzzer went off signalling that it was time for classes to start and the staff lingering by the doors let them close. The quiet hum of students conversation lingered as the principal took the podium.

"Quiet please, quiet," The hum went quiet after only a few seconds before he continued. "Now as you all know, we've had an incident here at the school involving one of our students and four unknown assailants. The reason I've called you all in here today is to let you all know that we are working in full cooperation with the police to get this matter solved and that we do take this type of brutal attack seriously. Also, considering the situation and in cooperation with the team captain, we've decided to cancel this week's football game to the other team." As Principal Robert took a breath the entire room filled quickly with the booing and awing of the students who were against cancelling the game. "Quiet down, please!" yelled Robert taking back control of the room. "I understand you're upset, but this is one of the way we're hoping to show you that we mean business in this situation. I urge any of you who might know anything about this situation to come forward and tell us what you know as the people who took part in this horrendous crime need to be punished." Robert paused and there was a lingering hum of people talking about the incident all the while Isaiah could hear the different speculations of who might have attacked him. One claimed it was guys from the other team that heard he was gay and decided to point out the team's weakness, another claimed it was all fake and just some elaborate prank that Isaiah was a part of, Isaiah found it offensive that someone would even think that. Perhaps the most offensive one of all was that it might have been Caleb who did it but of course they could give no valid reason for him to do so. "Now, one of your classmates has informed me she would like to say a few words about the situation. Sheena, would you come up here please?" Isaiah cringed at the very sound of her name over the speaker system the microphone was hooked up to. Sheena got up and walked toward the stairs all the while looking back at Caleb. Isaiah watched as Caleb stood up shaking his head no.

"I won't let you. There's no way," whispered Caleb.

"Caleb, what are you doing?" whispered Isaiah confused. Isaiah watched as the principal took a step back and Sheena took his place at the podium.

"Hey everyone, I just wanted to say a few things to all of you about the current situation some of you may or may not be aware of." Sheena started, Isaiah felt his heart sink into his stomach as she spoke her words knowing that she was referring to him and Caleb. "First off, the game being cancelled really sucks, but that's not what I'm here to talk to you about." Isaiah could tell that Sheena was feeling powerful from her position, it was like watching a politician lie to their public. He could tell that as far as she was convinced she had won a personal war that only she had been fighting. He couldn't help but think of how unfair everything was being for both him and Caleb. Caleb had just found himself and was still getting used to being who he was, his family didn't even know him yet and now Sheena was about to throw him to the crowd to be socially stoned to death. Isaiah had come out to his family and one friend but he didn't feel like he was ready just to let someone he hardly knew, a bully, to out him to his entire school. "Also, Isaiah, I'm sorry about what happened to you and I hope they find who did it." Isaiah felt insulted but tried not to show it, knowing that it was exactly the reaction she was hoping to get out of him, instead he kept a straight face.

"Sheena, get to your point please," said Robert getting impatient, "We don't have all day."

"I'm getting there." Sheena turned to looked at him and Caleb grabbed Isaiah by the hand pulling him to his feet and into a deep kiss. Isaiah was stunned that Caleb would be so brave to just kiss him literally in front of the whole school. Isaiah sat for a few seconds before reciprocating and bringing up his hand and kissing back quickly working into a full on passionate kiss.

"Yeah baby! Woo!" Casey screamed purposely to draw the attention of the first five rows of people. Sheena turned around quickly and the rest of the room was a bustle with excitement. Caleb and Isaiah stood their locked in their passionate kiss Isaiah had his arms around Caleb's neck and Caleb held Isaiah's free hand with his own. As Isaiah kissed Caleb he could hear the mixed reaction of the crowd.

"Dude, what the hell?!" called a voice sounding a lot like Jonathan.

"Oh my god, that is so cute," he heard a female voice call from the crowd.

"Awe, man," yelled Chris clearly trying to be heard above the crowd, "Sick!" Sheena stood stair at them with a look of disgust and defeat on her face, she still stood at the podium saying nothing for a few long seconds.

"You faggots," Sheena spoke under her breath but still audibly into the mic.

"That's enough!" The principal stepped in front of Sheena at the podium and spoke sternly into the microphone. "Settle down or everyone of you have detention!" Clearly an empty threat but it was enough for people to quiet down for fear of being singled out for the detention. Caleb pulled back from the kiss and the two of them smiled at each other and laughed quietly to one another. Caleb looked up and stared at Sheena still smiling.

"I told you I wouldn't let you." Sheena sat staring at him with her arms crossed in front of her.

"Caleb and Isaiah, you've made your point. Now, I would like to see the two of you in my office." The principal walked off the stage and waited by the door for the two of them. The eyes of everyone in the room was locked on them as they walked out of the row of seats. Isaiah flashed a glance at Casey telling her to take his stuff before the two of them walked down the steps to meet him. Sheena walked back down the step and headed for her seat, Katelyn stood up seemingly to meet her but walked over to the principal instead.

"Um, sir?" she said. Sheena looked at her with a convicting look.

"Yes, Katelyn?"

"I need to speak to you about something." As Katelyn spoke Sheena's eyes widened but it was clear that she was trying to hide it. "It's extremely important. It can't wait."

"Then come with us. As for the rest of you we're going to reschedule the assembly until next Monday, go back to class." Robert left the room with Isaiah and Caleb following behind him.

"Katelyn, what are you doing?" said Stephanie clearly worried.

"What I should have done a long time ago," Katelyn glared back at Sheena bravely meeting her gaze. "Stephanie, I'm sorry." Katelyn quickly collected her belongings and walked out into the hallway.

Out in the hallway Robert was talking to one of the teachers about getting people back to class and getting the day started. Isaiah was still partly stunned at the fact that Caleb had kissed him in front of the entire school and wasn't sure how to ask him about it, there was only one word that came to his mind when he thought about what Caleb had just done.

"Caleb, are you insane?" he asked trying not to sound too giddy. "Not that I object, but what did you do that?" Caleb leaned against the wall and smiled at him, reaching out and touching his face.

"I wasn't going to let her do it." Katelyn walked up to the two of them from behind.

"I'm sorry, Caleb." Caleb looked at her confused at her apology.

"You didn't do anything," he said. The students started to file out of the auditorium looking at Caleb and Isaiah as they pass. Some were laughing at them, some just gave dirty looks and others were just looking plain shocked. The type of town Strathecona was would be the type of place where you would never see two guys kiss each other. It was just something that people didn't talk about or see in their little town at least not until now. It wasn't long before the auditorium was clear and the principal was ready to move on.

"Alright guys, come on," he said heading toward his office. Isaiah looked at Caleb as they started to follow side by side. Katelyn quickly caught up walking beside them as they followed the principal through the halls of the school. The halls were empty with the exception of a few of the staff who were walking the halls making sure all the students went back to class. The quickly made back to the principal's office, Robert walked in and sat down at his desk. "Alright Katelyn, have a seat. I'll see you first. Boys, wait outside, please." Caleb and Isaiah both turned to leave.

"No," said Katelyn stopping them, "I want them to hear it, too. It's something about..." Katelyn trailed off with her words.

"About what?" asked Robert hesitating. Katelyn let out a sigh and looked at Isaiah then back to the principal.

"About what happened to him." Isaiah felt a sudden rush of excitement and surprised take over him. He never thought after all the work that went into discussing the incident that they would actually find the people who attacked him. It just didn't seem like they were looking.

"What?" he said, "Do you know who did it?"

"Calm down, Isaiah," said Robert trying to keep Katelyn from getting overwhelmed. "Katelyn, what do you know?"

"I'm sorry. I tried to stop them," All at once Katelyn started to cry, it was obvious that she really did feel sorry for Isaiah, he thought back through her actions and it all started to make sense to him. "I tried to talk her out of it but none of them would listen to me. I didn't want to tell anyone about it because they're going to be hate me now, and they're my best friends," she cried. Before Katelyn went on everything was starting to become painfully obvious to Isaiah as to who attacked him.

"Katelyn, calm down. It's okay," said Robert passing her a tissue from the box on his desk. "Please tell us who did it."

"It was," Katelyn paused to wipe her eyes with the tissue, she sniffled then took a deep breath, "Jonathan, Chris, Mike and Andrew." Isaiah listened to the names she rattled off not feeling the slightest bit surprised, he was angry, they were truly cowards for hiding their faces. "Sheena set the whole thing up because she saw you two kiss at the party, Caleb."

Caleb sat in disbelief feeling like a fool the whole time for not following his gut on who had done this to Isaiah. He turned away and cursed under his breath wanting to run out and find every one of them and beat them into a bloody. He looked at Isaiah who sat with his arms crossed in front of him, he looked into his eyes and could see the look of anger and shock that he was feeling along with him. Isaiah looked down at the ground.

"I knew his eyes looked familiar," said Isaiah.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"The only thing I remember seeing when they were attacking me was getting a close look at one of the attackers' eyes behind the mask." Isaiah shook his head in disbelief.

"Miss Riley, are you absolutely sure about this? If you're lying, it could have serious repercussions. This is a criminal investigation, after all," explained Robert speaking slowly and clearly to make sure Katelyn understood what was happening.

"I'm absolutely sure," Katelyn wiped at her eyes with the tissue and crumpled it up in her hand before looking up at Caleb, he now understood what she was sorry for. "I'm so sorry I didn't come forward sooner."

"The fact that you came to us at all makes all the difference." Robert smiled at her and picked up a pen quickly writing something down on his notes. "But I will have to call the officer to come and speak with you to take an official statement. Are you able to?" His face turned back to a serious look clearly he was hoping for a positive answer. Not only would this mean a lot to Caleb and Isaiah but it would also mean a lot for Mr. Campbell. Having such a huge incident at his school looked bad in the first place but the fact that it never went unsolved would looked good on him.

"Yes," Katelyn nodded confirming her answer.

"Great," The smile returned to Robert's face as he wrote something down on the note pad. "Now, please go wait outside so I can talk to these two about their little display."

"Alright," Katelyn stood up to leave, "I'll go outside." Katelyn started to walk out and Caleb put his hand on her shoulder stopping her, not really making eye contact.

"Thanks, Kate." Katelyn smiled shyly at him and put her head down before stepping outside. She closed the door behind her and Mr. Campbell looked at the two of them.

Sheena sat in math class at her desk, she hadn't said a word to anyone since she saw Katelyn get up and leave. She had never been so angry before in her life as she was at Katelyn's betrayal. She never said that she was going to tell but Sheena knew she would. She was so upset that she couldn't bring herself to speak, she thought if she did then she might scream. Her and Katelyn had been friends for years and she had done stuff in the past that Katelyn didn't like but she had never told her secrets before. Sheena didn't know what was so different about this time, Katelyn did tell her that she went too far but she knew she was in the right. Someone had to pay for the pain that Caleb caused to her, Isaiah was the perfect choice, Caleb ripped her heart out when he left her whether or not he knew it or not, cheating on her was unacceptable. She wanted Caleb to feel a fraction of the pain she felt. Perhaps the worst part about this for Sheena was the fact that Caleb had once again taken the spotlight off of her, when he kissed Isaiah it was suddenly like she didn't even exist. It was like she was a faceless nobody in a sea of people that was the auditorium, it was what she feared. When she was with Caleb she felt like someone because he was someone and people would see her with him. Now she was with someone she only used in the first place to get back at Caleb, her best friend had betrayed her and she looked like more of a fool than ever because of Caleb and Isaiah's display.

"What are we gonna do?" Chris whispered leaning in to her. Sheena rolled her eyes and ignored him, it didn't matter now, once Katelyn told the principal what happened there was no denying anything the boys would most likely go to prison. Sheena wasn't worried for her sake, she figured she'd be able to charm a judge or jury out of giving her any actual time. "Well?" asked Chris again starting to sound impatient.

"I don't care what you do, it doesn't matter," Sheena snapped. Tears were in her eyes but she held it back not wanting to cry in front of her classmates. Chris gave her a confused look and sat back in his seat. Sheena figured she would just call it off that night when they got home if they got to go back to their house. There was no point in continuing with Chris, she couldn't get him to submit to her and he wasn't good enough for her to submit to him. Sheena didn't know what to expect, all she knew is that it wasn't going to be good. The worst part was that there was nothing she could do about it. For the first time in her life that she could remember she had no control over the outcome of something that had been brought on by her actions and it scared her.

"Have a seat boys," he said. Caleb and Isaiah looked at each other before sitting at the two seats in front of him. Caleb could only imagine the kind of trouble he was going to get into for the stunt he pulled, he just didn't think any of it would be from the school administration. He had a good relationship with the principal and he wasn't really sure why they were even there.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but she was just about to out us to the entire school and I didn't want her to..."

"Calm down," he interrupted, "You're not in trouble."

"Oh?" said Caleb confused. Caleb looked over at Isaiah who just sat quietly then looked back at Mr. Campbell.

"I just wanted to talk to you to make sure you understood the consequences of your actions." Isaiah and Caleb bother were confused they weren't really sure what was going to happen from here on neither of them had thought that far ahead, Caleb was just making it up as he went along.

"What do you mean?" asked Isaiah, confused.

"Well..." Mr. Campbell stood up and looked out the window to his office before glancing back at them, "... Are you guys ready for what's about to happen?" he asked. "Things are going to change around here because of the two of you and change never comes easy in anything. The staff and I are going to be here for you, but we're not going to be able to be everywhere at once and some of the other kids are going to be hostile toward you."

"Well," Caleb smiled at Isaiah, he knew that no one in their school would bother him, "if they can take me, they're welcome to try."

"Just make sure you guys stick together and watch yourselves, is all I ask," he advised. "We don't need a repeat of what happened in the locker room."

"Yeah for sure." Caleb had already vowed to make sure to keep Isaiah safe from anyone who might try to mess with him, that was something that wouldn't change.

"Was that it?" asked Isaiah clearly anxious to get out of the room.

"Yes," Mr. Campbell smiled, "that's everything we needed to talk about. Now I just need to call the officer and get him in here to talk to Katelyn and take her statement." Caleb could tell that Isaiah wanted to leave so he decided they would take off early for the weekend. He wasn't sure about it but he wanted to have a party at his house again, not to celebrate a win but to celebrate their love for one another.

"We're going to leave for now. Call us if you need us."

"Will do." Mr. Campbell raised his hand to them freeing them from the room.

Caleb walked out of the office and time seemed to slow down as they he headed toward the door, he could see several people that he was friends with. Casey cheered at him while Jonathan just shook his head at him. Isaiah walked up behind him and took his hand, Caleb looked back at him finding it almost hard to believe that they had carried each other so far. He couldn't believe how far Isaiah's love had brought him. Caleb wasn't even sure where he was going but the two of them walked outside still holding each other's hands. The rain had stopped the wind was cool and the smell of ozone lingered in the air, Caleb and Isaiah walked down the street away from the school. They would only be in school for another few weeks before they were done, they had the rest of their lives to look forward too.


End file.
